Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Cuts Stock Position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its position in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Free Report) by 91.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,392 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 58,527 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $643,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AVAV. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 49.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 677 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in AeroVironment during the 1st quarter valued at about $968,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in AeroVironment by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,374 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in AeroVironment by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,741 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $208,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its holdings in AeroVironment by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 363,316 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $43,304,000 after buying an additional 30,123 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.38% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial raised AeroVironment from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Monday, May 12th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $146.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $230.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $208.50.

AeroVironment Stock Up 0.7%

AVAV stock traded up $1.31 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $190.04. The stock had a trading volume of 800,551 shares, compared to its average volume of 443,600. The business has a 50-day moving average of $166.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $157.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 3.07. The firm has a market cap of $5.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 161.05 and a beta of 0.81. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 52-week low of $102.25 and a 52-week high of $236.60.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 29,366 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.20, for a total value of $3,764,721.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 115,174 shares in the company, valued at $14,765,306.80. This trade represents a 20.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.27% of the company's stock.

AeroVironment Profile

AeroVironment, Inc designs, develops, produces, delivers, and supports a portfolio of robotic systems and related services for government agencies and businesses in the United States and internationally. It operates through Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (SUAS), Tactical Missile System (TMS), Medium Unmanned Aircraft Systems (MUAS), and High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite Systems (HAPS) segments.