GW&K Investment Management LLC Raises Position in AeroVironment, Inc. $AVAV

Key Points

• GW&K Investment Management boosted its AeroVironment stake by 289.9% in the fourth quarter, ending with 222,055 shares valued at about $53.7 million.
• AeroVironment’s latest earnings missed analyst expectations, with EPS of $0.64 versus $0.68 expected and revenue of $408.05 million versus $487.94 million forecast, even though revenue still rose sharply year over year.
• Wall Street remains generally constructive on the stock, with a Moderate Buy consensus and average price target of $318.78, but the company is also facing ongoing securities-fraud class action risk.

GW&K Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Free Report) by 289.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 222,055 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 165,106 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.44% of AeroVironment worth $53,714,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 119.1% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 5,904 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,428,000 after purchasing an additional 3,209 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 558.5% during the fourth quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 6,131 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,527,000 after buying an additional 5,200 shares during the period. Deepwater Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the fourth quarter worth $6,987,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AeroVironment in the 4th quarter worth $79,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at AeroVironment

In other news, CAO Brian Charles Shackley sold 200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.52, for a total transaction of $42,504.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,794 shares in the company, valued at $1,231,340.88. This trade represents a 3.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen F. Page sold 250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.31, for a total value of $40,577.50. Following the sale, the director owned 49,251 shares in the company, valued at $7,993,929.81. This trade represents a 0.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 950 shares of company stock worth $185,534 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.81% of the company's stock.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

NASDAQ AVAV opened at $176.51 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $184.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $236.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.81 billion, a P/E ratio of -40.67, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.35. AeroVironment, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $156.00 and a fifty-two week high of $417.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 4.54 and a current ratio of 5.51.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 10th. The aerospace company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.04). AeroVironment had a negative net margin of 13.93% and a positive return on equity of 3.26%. The company had revenue of $408.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $487.94 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.30 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 143.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Clear Str upgraded AeroVironment to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on AeroVironment from $389.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on AeroVironment in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $320.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research upgraded AeroVironment from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded AeroVironment from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $318.78.

More AeroVironment News

Here are the key news stories impacting AeroVironment this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AeroVironment expanded deployment of its connected-vehicle traffic information platform, which suggests ongoing commercial traction and product adoption. AeroVironment expands deployment of connected-vehicle traffic information platform
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed 0 shares reported as of June 9, so the update does not provide a meaningful trading signal.
• Negative Sentiment: Glancy Prongay Wolke & Rotter LLP reminded investors of the July 27 lead-plaintiff deadline in the AVAV securities-fraud class action, keeping legal risk in focus. Deadline Alert: AeroVironment, Inc. (AVAV) Shareholders Who Lost Money Urged To Contact Glancy Prongay Wolke Rotter LLP About Securities Fraud Lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP said it filed a class action against AeroVironment and certain officers, reinforcing concerns about alleged securities-law violations. Pomerantz Law Firm Announces the Filing of a Class Action Against AeroVironment, Inc. and Certain Officers – AVAV
• Negative Sentiment: Additional law firms, including Bronstein Gewirtz & Grossman, Faruqi & Faruqi, The Gross Law Firm, Rosen, Robbins, Schall, DJS, and Levi & Korsinsky, continued promoting the AVAV shareholder lawsuit, amplifying the litigation headline risk.
• Negative Sentiment: The lawsuits reference corrective disclosures and alleged harm tied to the SCAR program collapse, which could raise concerns about operational execution and prior disclosures. AVAV Shareholder Alert: AeroVironment, Inc. Securities Class Action Lawsuit

AeroVironment Profile

AeroVironment, Inc NASDAQ: AVAV is a technology company specializing in unmanned aerial systems (UAS), tactical missiles and precision loitering munitions, electric vehicle charging and scalable energy systems. Headquartered in Monrovia, California, the company develops solutions for defense, public safety and commercial markets. Their offerings include small UAS for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, as well as advanced weapons systems designed to meet the needs of modern military operations.

The company's unmanned aerial systems portfolio features platforms such as the Raven, Puma and Switchblade series, which are deployed by the U.S.

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