Stephens Investment Management Group LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in AeroVironment, Inc. $AVAV

Key Points

• Stephens Investment Management Group LLC decreased its stake in AeroVironment, Inc. by 17.0% in the second quarter, now holding approximately 633,884 shares worth $180.6 million, making it the largest holding in their portfolio.
• Institutional investors collectively own 86.38% of AeroVironment's stock, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• AeroVironment reported earnings of $0.12 per share and revenue of $132.62 million for the last quarter, despite a negative net margin of 4.14%.

Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lowered its position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Free Report) by 17.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 633,884 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 129,605 shares during the quarter. AeroVironment comprises approximately 2.4% of Stephens Investment Management Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC owned approximately 1.28% of AeroVironment worth $180,625,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in AeroVironment by 13.5% in the second quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 8,068 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,299,000 after acquiring an additional 961 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 4,669 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 2,148 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. bought a new position in AeroVironment in the first quarter valued at $1,142,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in AeroVironment by 2.3% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 139,835 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $16,667,000 after acquiring an additional 3,183 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.38% of the company's stock.

AeroVironment Price Performance

AVAV stock opened at $377.18 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -589.33, a PEG ratio of 6.17 and a beta of 0.99. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $294.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $233.01. The company has a current ratio of 5.96, a quick ratio of 5.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 12-month low of $102.25 and a 12-month high of $417.86.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 28th. The aerospace company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $132.62 million during the quarter. AeroVironment had a negative net margin of 4.14% and a positive return on equity of 4.67%. As a group, equities analysts predict that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AeroVironment

In other news, insider Trace E. Stevenson sold 1,717 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $381.00, for a total transaction of $654,177.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 4,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,869,567. This represents a 25.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 998 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $399.74, for a total transaction of $398,940.52. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 19,324 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,724,575.76. This represents a 4.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVAV has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on AeroVironment in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $335.00 target price on the stock. Wedbush raised AeroVironment to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Zacks Research lowered shares of AeroVironment from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on AeroVironment from $305.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $356.07.

AeroVironment Company 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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