VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Takes Position in AeroVironment, Inc. $AVAV

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems acquired a new stake in AeroVironment, purchasing 6,900 shares valued at about $1.97 million during the second quarter.
• Multiple institutional investors made new stakes in AeroVironment, highlighting significant interest as they collectively own 86.38% of the company's stock.
• Analysts have set a consensus target price of $356.07 for AeroVironment, with a mix of ratings including two Strong Buy, sixteen Buy, and two Hold ratings.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,900 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $1,966,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Allianz Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the second quarter valued at about $427,000. Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the second quarter valued at about $697,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the second quarter valued at about $330,000. TD Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in AeroVironment during the second quarter worth about $1,919,000. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC acquired a new position in AeroVironment during the second quarter worth about $254,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at AeroVironment

In related news, insider Trace E. Stevenson sold 1,717 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $381.00, for a total transaction of $654,177.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 4,907 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,869,567. This represents a 25.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 998 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 19,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,724,575.76. The trade was a 4.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.81% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVAV has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $295.00 to $389.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Sunday, June 29th. They set an "overweight" rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $320.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Citizens Jmp assumed coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Monday, August 4th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $325.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AeroVironment currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $356.07.

AeroVironment Price Performance

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

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

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.