Stephens Inc. AR Has $526,000 Stake in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Stephens Inc. AR lifted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Free Report) by 94.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,415 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,148 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR's holdings in AeroVironment were worth $526,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in AeroVironment by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 5,325 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $819,000 after buying an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its position in AeroVironment by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 55,500 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $8,541,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in AeroVironment by 41.7% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 8,559 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,317,000 after acquiring an additional 2,518 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in AeroVironment in the fourth quarter valued at $204,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in AeroVironment by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,466 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $687,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the period. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at AeroVironment

In other AeroVironment news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 17,300 shares of the firm'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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 122,233 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,153,390.65. This trade represents a 12.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.27% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVAV has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on AeroVironment from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on AeroVironment from $146.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. William Blair started coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Sunday, June 29th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $240.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $268.00.

AeroVironment Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of AeroVironment stock traded down $4.53 on Friday, hitting $274.03. 1,247,188 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 627,961. The stock has a market cap of $13.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 176.79 and a beta of 0.96. 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $207.55 and its 200 day moving average is $170.27. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 52-week low of $102.25 and a 52-week 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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.20. AeroVironment had a return on equity of 10.68% and a net margin of 5.32%. The firm had revenue of $275.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $242.69 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 39.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

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.