AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) Short Interest Update

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 848,900 shares, an increase of 14.0% from the March 31st total of 744,900 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 357,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.4 days.

AeroVironment Stock Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ:AVAV traded up $1.15 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $159.24. 419,242 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 329,635. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -36.95 and a beta of 0.44. The business's 50-day moving average price is $147.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $132.64. AeroVironment has a 1 year low of $88.24 and a 1 year high of $184.61. The company has a current ratio of 4.66, a quick ratio of 3.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, March 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $186.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.62 million. AeroVironment had a positive return on equity of 13.93% and a negative net margin of 15.14%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 38.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.33 EPS. Analysts predict that AeroVironment will post 2.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AeroVironment

In other news, SVP Melissa Ann Brown sold 1,000 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.77, for a total value of $176,770.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,181,165.03. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, SVP Melissa Ann Brown sold 1,000 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.77, for a total value of $176,770.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,181,165.03. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Trace E. Stevenson sold 1,913 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.00, for a total value of $350,079.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,570 shares in the company, valued at $470,310. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of AeroVironment

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AVAV. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 106.9% in the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 556,853 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $62,106,000 after acquiring an additional 287,730 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of AeroVironment by 7.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,860,954 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $319,082,000 after acquiring an additional 209,359 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of AeroVironment by 3,565.5% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 171,288 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $21,589,000 after acquiring an additional 166,615 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the fourth quarter valued at about $20,287,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of AeroVironment by 187.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 221,749 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $27,949,000 after acquiring an additional 144,628 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AVAV shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on AeroVironment from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $161.00 price objective on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AeroVironment has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $140.20.

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.