Vista Investment Partners LLC Raises Stock Holdings in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Vista Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Free Report) by 19.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,541 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,509 shares during the quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC owned about 0.06% of AeroVironment worth $1,852,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 120.2% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 185 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Advisors acquired a new stake in AeroVironment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in AeroVironment in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in AeroVironment by 171.1% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 244 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of AeroVironment by 2,950.0% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 305 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 29,366 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.20, for a total transaction of $3,764,721.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 115,174 shares in the company, valued at $14,765,306.80. This trade represents a 20.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.27% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVAV has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut AeroVironment from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. Raymond James upgraded AeroVironment from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Monday, May 12th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $146.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on AeroVironment from $230.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AeroVironment has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $208.50.

AeroVironment Trading Down 4.3%

Shares of AeroVironment stock opened at $186.67 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 4.61 and a quick ratio of 3.36. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $164.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $157.54. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 1 year low of $102.25 and a 1 year high of $236.60. The stock has a market cap of $5.27 billion, a PE ratio of 107.28 and a beta of 0.81.

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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