International Assets Investment Management LLC Makes New Investment in AeroVironment, Inc. $AVAV

Key Points

• International Assets Investment Management LLC has made a new investment in AeroVironment, purchasing 993 shares valued at approximately $283,000 in the second quarter.
• AeroVironment's stock has seen bullish support from analysts, with price targets raised by firms such as JMP Securities and Raymond James, indicating a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $356.07.
• Insider transactions have occurred recently, with key executives selling significant shares, leading to changes in their ownership percentages, which merits attention from investors.

International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 993 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $283,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AVAV. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in AeroVironment by 49.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 677 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in AeroVironment by 1,261.8% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 22,170 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,642,000 after acquiring an additional 20,542 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in AeroVironment by 5.9% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 6,302 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $751,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 198,288 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $23,634,000 after buying an additional 8,330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,142,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.38% of the company's stock.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

Shares of AVAV opened at $355.18 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $17.73 billion, a PE ratio of -554.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.40 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 5.96, a quick ratio of 5.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 12-month low of $102.25 and a 12-month high of $417.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $296.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $233.85.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 28th. The aerospace company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $132.62 million for the quarter. AeroVironment had a positive return on equity of 4.67% and a negative net margin of 4.14%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AVAV. JMP Securities upped their target price on AeroVironment from $325.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on AeroVironment from $300.00 to $348.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on AeroVironment from $300.00 to $333.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Sunday, June 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $356.07.

Insider Transactions at AeroVironment

In other AeroVironment news, insider Trace E. Stevenson sold 1,717 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $381.00, for a total value of $654,177.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 4,907 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,869,567. The trade was a 25.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 998 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $399.74, for a total value of $398,940.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 19,324 shares in the company, valued at $7,724,575.76. This trade represents a 4.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company's stock.

About AeroVironment

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.

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