AeroVironment, Inc. $AVAV Stake Increased by Kercheville Advisors LLC

Kercheville Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 302.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,150 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,375 shares during the quarter. Kercheville Advisors LLC’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $1,017,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of AeroVironment by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,054 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $861,000 after purchasing an additional 725 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 6,834 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $972,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of AeroVironment by 8.0% during the third quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,588 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $653,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in shares of AeroVironment by 21.7% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 11,055 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,572,000 after buying an additional 1,971 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of AeroVironment by 140.4% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 44,481 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,326,000 after buying an additional 25,975 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

AeroVironment Stock Down 3.2%

AVAV traded down $3.89 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $117.90. The company had a trading volume of 1,415,796 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,667,059. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $152.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $165.32. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 52 week low of $116.43 and a 52 week high of $408.25. The company has a market capitalization of $5.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -50.38, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 3.33, a current ratio of 4.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, September 9th. The aerospace company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.37. AeroVironment had a positive return on equity of 4.04% and a negative net margin of 5.77%. The company had revenue of $480.49 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $451.95 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. AeroVironment has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.020-3.340 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Stephen F. Page sold 250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.27, for a total transaction of $38,067.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 48,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,347,484.31. This represents a 0.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Brian Shackley sold 205 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.86, for a total value of $41,381.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 7,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,592,271.68. This represents a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 805 shares of company stock valued at $142,671 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AVAV shares. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $280.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Friday, October 9th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $237.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on AeroVironment from $229.00 to $204.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered AeroVironment from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $210.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn began coverage on AeroVironment in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $165.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.80.

AeroVironment Profile

AeroVironment, Inc is a defense technology company that develops and supplies uncrewed aircraft systems, loitering munitions, counter-uncrewed-aircraft systems, space systems and related autonomous technologies. Its products are designed for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, precision strike, tactical communications and other defense and security missions.

The company’s portfolio includes the Raven, Puma and Quantix unmanned aircraft systems; the JUMP 20 vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft; and the Switchblade family of loitering munitions.