AeroVironment, Inc. $AVAV Shares Purchased by Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 26.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,275 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $648,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AVAV. ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 296.0% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 99 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. RMG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in AeroVironment in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 60.3% during the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 117 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,000. 86.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $305.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of AeroVironment from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $356.07.

Insider Activity at AeroVironment

In other AeroVironment news, 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 value of $398,940.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 19,324 shares in the company, valued at $7,724,575.76. This represents a 4.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Trace E. Stevenson sold 1,717 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $381.00, for a total value of $654,177.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 4,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,869,567. The trade was a 25.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.81% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

AVAV stock opened at $329.65 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -515.07, a PEG ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $325.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $253.38. AeroVironment, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $102.25 and a fifty-two week high of $417.86. The company has a quick ratio of 5.12, a current ratio of 5.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 28th. The aerospace company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter. The firm 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.