Insider Selling: AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) CFO Sells 396 Shares of Stock

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.73, for a total value of $78,697.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,273,480.56. This trade represents a 2.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, November 1st, Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 508 shares of AeroVironment stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.65, for a total transaction of $110,058.20.
• On Tuesday, October 1st, Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 878 shares of AeroVironment stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.54, for a total transaction of $184,854.12.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

AVAV stock traded down $10.09 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $193.10. The stock had a trading volume of 547,149 shares, compared to its average volume of 400,362. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $208.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $194.36. AeroVironment, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $116.51 and a fifty-two week high of $236.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.45 billion, a PE ratio of 90.66 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 4.26 and a quick ratio of 3.04.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $189.48 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $183.18 million. AeroVironment had a net margin of 7.82% and a return on equity of 9.87%. AeroVironment’s quarterly revenue was up 24.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.00 EPS. Analysts predict that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on AVAV shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on AeroVironment from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $161.00 to $220.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $240.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AeroVironment currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.83.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AeroVironment

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AVAV. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in AeroVironment by 299.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,821 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,037,000 after acquiring an additional 3,614 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 39.6% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 7,451 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,494,000 after purchasing an additional 2,115 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in AeroVironment by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 634,189 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $127,180,000 after purchasing an additional 4,948 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in AeroVironment by 149.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 57,245 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $11,477,000 after purchasing an additional 34,318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC boosted its position in AeroVironment by 85.0% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 4,395 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $881,000 after buying an additional 2,019 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

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.