Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. Buys 7,929 Shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Key Points

• Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. increased its stake in AeroVironment by 4.2%, acquiring an additional 7,929 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 0.70% valued at $23.4 million.
• Several analysts have raised their target prices for AeroVironment, with the consensus reaching $268.00 and a majority rating the stock as a buy.
• AeroVironment reported a quarterly EPS of $1.61, exceeding estimates, and recorded a 39.6% year-over-year increase in revenue.

Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. increased its stake in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Free Report) by 4.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 196,504 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,929 shares during the period. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. owned approximately 0.70% of AeroVironment worth $23,411,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Redwood Investments LLC increased its position in shares of AeroVironment by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Redwood Investments LLC now owns 9,273 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,427,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC grew its position in AeroVironment by 4.3% in the first quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,741 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $208,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in AeroVironment by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,601 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $246,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its position in AeroVironment by 2.7% in the first quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,199 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its position in AeroVironment by 120.2% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 185 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.38% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVAV has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on AeroVironment from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on AeroVironment in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $240.00 target price on the stock. William Blair assumed coverage on AeroVironment in a research report on Sunday, June 29th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on AeroVironment from $146.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Sunday, June 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $268.00.

AeroVironment Price Performance

AeroVironment stock opened at $272.88 on Friday. The stock's 50 day moving average is $218.04 and its 200 day moving average is $173.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 3.52 and a quick ratio of 2.69. The firm has a market cap of $13.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 176.05 and a beta of 0.96. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 24th. The aerospace company reported $1.61 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 analyst estimates 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 firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AeroVironment news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 17,300 shares of AeroVironment 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 directly 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.

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.

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