Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust Raises Stock Holdings in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust raised its stake in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Free Report) by 1.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 131,076 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 1,248 shares during the period. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust owned about 0.46% of AeroVironment worth $15,623,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AVAV. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of AeroVironment by 120.2% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 185 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in shares of AeroVironment by 171.1% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 244 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Advisors bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Spirit of America Management Corp NY bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors own 86.38% of the company's stock.

AeroVironment Stock Up 11.0%

Shares of AeroVironment stock traded up $26.23 on Friday, hitting $263.80. The company had a trading volume of 4,244,777 shares, compared to its average volume of 582,489. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 170.19 and a beta of 0.96. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 1 year low of $102.25 and a 1 year high of $295.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $196.84 and a 200-day moving average of $166.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a current ratio of 3.52.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 24th. The aerospace company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $275.05 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $242.69 million. AeroVironment had a return on equity of 10.68% and a net margin of 5.32%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 39.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AVAV shares. Wedbush upgraded AeroVironment to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on AeroVironment in a report on Monday, June 30th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $301.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on AeroVironment from $200.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on AeroVironment from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Sunday, June 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $265.22.

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.