Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 1,255 Shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Key Points

• The Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its holdings in AeroVironment, Inc. by 13.3%, owning 8,176 shares valued at $974,000 after selling 1,255 shares in the first quarter.
• AeroVironment's CEO, Wahid Nawabi, sold 17,300 shares valued at approximately $4.55 million, decreasing his ownership in the company.
• Recent analyst ratings suggest a positive outlook for AeroVironment, with an average target price of $283.55 and multiple upgrades to "buy" and "strong-buy" from various firms.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its stake in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Free Report) by 13.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,176 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 1,255 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in AeroVironment were worth $974,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in AeroVironment in the 1st quarter valued at $90,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in AeroVironment by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 265,102 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $31,598,000 after buying an additional 1,029 shares during the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in AeroVironment in the 1st quarter valued at $326,000. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC increased its position in shares of AeroVironment by 247.5% during the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 13,535 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,613,000 after purchasing an additional 9,640 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd increased its position in shares of AeroVironment by 91.1% during the 1st quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd now owns 6,652 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $793,000 after purchasing an additional 3,171 shares during the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AeroVironment Price Performance

AVAV traded down $4.58 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $245.16. The stock had a trading volume of 161,893 shares, compared to its average volume of 832,110. The company has a market cap of $12.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 158.42 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a fifty day moving average of $241.92 and a 200 day moving average of $182.63. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $102.25 and a 1 year high of $295.90.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, June 24th. The aerospace company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $275.05 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $242.69 million. AeroVironment had a return on equity of 10.68% and a net margin of 5.32%. AeroVironment's revenue for the quarter was up 39.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AeroVironment news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 17,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 122,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,153,390.65. The trade was a 12.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.27% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. William Blair assumed coverage on AeroVironment in a research report on Sunday, June 29th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on AeroVironment from $210.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. BTIG Research raised their target price on AeroVironment from $225.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on AeroVironment in a research note on Sunday, June 29th. They issued an "overweight" rating on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on AeroVironment in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $335.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $285.33.

AeroVironment 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.