Raymond James Financial Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in AeroVironment, Inc. $AVAV

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. reduced its holdings in AeroVironment, Inc. by 12.4% during the first quarter, owning approximately 266,486 shares valued at $31.76 million after selling 37,559 shares.
• AeroVironment reported a 39.6% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year, reaching $275.05 million, and posted earnings per share of $1.61, exceeding analysts' expectations.
• Several institutional investors have raised their stakes in AeroVironment, with Stephens Investment Management Group increasing its holdings by 41.0% in the same quarter.

Raymond James Financial Inc. lowered its position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Free Report) by 12.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 266,486 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 37,559 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.94% of AeroVironment worth $31,762,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 41.0% in the first quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 763,489 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $91,000,000 after purchasing an additional 221,948 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 35.4% in the first quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 17,873 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,130,000 after purchasing an additional 4,669 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR increased its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 94.8% in the first quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 4,415 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $526,000 after purchasing an additional 2,148 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 45,272 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $6,967,000 after purchasing an additional 6,589 shares during the period. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,142,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.38% of the company's stock.

AeroVironment Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of AVAV stock opened at $239.84 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $247.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $185.23. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 1-year low of $102.25 and a 1-year high of $295.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.98 billion, a PE ratio of 154.74 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 3.52 and a quick ratio of 2.69.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 24th. The aerospace company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.20. The firm 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%.AeroVironment's quarterly revenue was up 39.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.43 earnings per share. AeroVironment has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.800-3.000 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVAV has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on AeroVironment from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Wedbush raised AeroVironment to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen raised AeroVironment from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, June 22nd. KeyCorp assumed coverage on AeroVironment in a report on Sunday, June 29th. They issued an "overweight" rating on the stock. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $225.00 price objective on AeroVironment and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and sixteen have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $286.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AeroVironment 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 122,233 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,153,390.65. This represents a 12.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company's stock.

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.

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