Magnetar Financial LLC Buys Shares of 14,311 AeroVironment, Inc. $AVAV

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in AeroVironment, Inc. by purchasing 14,311 shares worth approximately $1.7 million, representing 0.05% ownership in the company.
• Multiple institutional investors have increased their stakes in AeroVironment, with overall institutional ownership now at 86.38%.
• Analysts are optimistic about AeroVironment, with the stock receiving a consensus rating of "Buy" and a price target averaging around $292.33 from various investment firms.

Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 14,311 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $1,706,000. Magnetar Financial LLC owned 0.05% of AeroVironment at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redwood Investments LLC raised its stake in AeroVironment by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Redwood Investments LLC now owns 9,273 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,427,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in AeroVironment by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,741 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $208,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in AeroVironment by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,601 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its stake in AeroVironment by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,199 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $381,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at AeroVironment

In related news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 17,300 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 12.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.81% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AeroVironment Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of AVAV stock traded down $1.79 on Wednesday, hitting $238.23. The stock had a trading volume of 433,416 shares, compared to its average volume of 821,413. The company has a quick ratio of 2.69, a current ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $255.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $188.72. The company has a market cap of $11.89 billion, a PE ratio of 153.70 and a beta of 1.02. AeroVironment, Inc. has a one year low of $102.25 and a one year high of $295.90.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 24th. The aerospace company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 39.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.43 earnings per share. AeroVironment has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.800-3.000 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AVAV shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $210.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group started coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Monday, August 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $305.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Sunday, June 29th. They set an "overweight" rating for the company. Finally, William Blair assumed coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Sunday, June 29th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AeroVironment presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $292.33.

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.