Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Cuts Stake in AeroVironment, Inc. $AVAV

Key Points

• Kornitzer Capital Management cut its AeroVironment stake by 47.9% in the first quarter, selling 15,154 shares and leaving it with 16,464 shares worth about $3.0 million.
• AeroVironment posted a strong quarter, with EPS of $1.84 beating estimates and revenue of $641.6 million topping forecasts, while revenue jumped 133.3% year over year.
• Despite solid results, sentiment is mixed: several analysts still rate the stock a buy, but RBC downgraded AVAV and trimmed its price target amid concerns about ambitious growth expectations.

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS cut its stake in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Free Report) by 47.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,464 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 15,154 shares during the quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS's holdings in AeroVironment were worth $3,014,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new stake in AeroVironment during the 3rd quarter valued at about $314,890,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in AeroVironment by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 884,395 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $213,956,000 after buying an additional 71,903 shares during the last quarter. Heard Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 48.4% in the fourth quarter. Heard Capital LLC now owns 722,150 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $174,681,000 after buying an additional 235,685 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 15.7% in the third quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 614,444 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $193,390,000 after buying an additional 83,322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 17.2% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 504,270 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $143,692,000 after buying an additional 73,963 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.38% of the company's stock.

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Key Headlines Impacting AeroVironment

Here are the key news stories impacting AeroVironment this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Needham, BTIG, and other analysts reiterated bullish ratings on AeroVironment, signaling continued confidence in the company’s long-term outlook. Analyst rating updates
• Positive Sentiment: One report highlighted strong fiscal Q4 results, including $642 million in revenue, 22% EBITDA margins, and a $2.7 billion backlog, suggesting solid operational execution. MarketBeat article
• Neutral Sentiment: AeroVironment was said to win a German drone order, which supports the company’s pipeline but does not by itself change the bigger valuation debate. Yahoo Finance article
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms issued reminders about the July 27 lead-plaintiff deadline in the AVAV securities class action, keeping legal risk in focus. Rosen Law Firm deadline reminder
• Negative Sentiment: RBC downgraded AeroVironment to Hold and cut its price target, citing skepticism about the company’s aggressive growth targets. RBC downgrade article

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AVAV. Citizens Jmp reduced their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $350.00 to $230.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on AeroVironment from $280.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Thursday. Clear Str raised AeroVironment to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut AeroVironment from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $210.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AeroVironment presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $266.68.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Stephen F. Page sold 250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.41, for a total value of $43,602.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 49,001 shares in the company, valued at $8,546,264.41. This trade represents a 0.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 750 shares of company stock valued at $133,502. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company's stock.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

Shares of AVAV traded down $3.82 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $144.58. 1,340,471 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,246,661. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 3.59 and a current ratio of 4.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $171.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $220.85. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.20 and a 1 year high of $417.86. The stock has a market cap of $7.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.39.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, June 29th. The aerospace company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $641.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $555.97 million. AeroVironment had a negative net margin of 9.00% and a positive return on equity of 3.71%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 133.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.61 earnings per share. AeroVironment has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.020-3.340 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

About AeroVironment

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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