IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd Increases Stock Position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Key Points

• IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd significantly increased its holdings in AeroVironment, Inc. by 91.1% during the first quarter, reaching a total of 6,652 shares valued at approximately $793,000.
• Other institutional investors, including Blair William & Co. and US Bancorp DE, also boosted their stakes in AeroVironment, contributing to a total institutional ownership of 86.38%.
• AeroVironment reported earnings of $1.61 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, with revenue increasing by 39.6% year-over-year.

IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd lifted its holdings in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Free Report) by 91.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,652 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 3,171 shares during the quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd's holdings in AeroVironment were worth $793,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AVAV. Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 82.1% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 49,000 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $5,840,000 after purchasing an additional 22,099 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 46.2% in the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 446 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its position in AeroVironment by 270.0% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,107 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $847,000 after buying an additional 5,186 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in AeroVironment by 5.2% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,685 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $201,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in AeroVironment by 6.7% in the first quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 281,323 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $33,531,000 after acquiring an additional 17,696 shares in the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at AeroVironment

In other news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 17,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.05, for a total value of $4,550,765.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 122,233 shares in the company, valued at $32,153,390.65. This represents a 12.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AeroVironment Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:AVAV opened at $267.95 on Tuesday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $230.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $178.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 172.87 and a beta of 0.99. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 52-week low of $102.25 and a 52-week high of $295.90. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 24th. The aerospace company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $275.05 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $242.69 million. AeroVironment had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 10.68%. The firm's revenue was up 39.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. Analysts expect that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVAV has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wedbush raised AeroVironment to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $225.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. William Blair started coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Sunday, June 29th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. JMP Securities assumed coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Monday. They set a "market outperform" rating and a $325.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $283.55.

AeroVironment Company 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.

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