Future Fund LLC Makes New $1.51 Million Investment in AeroVironment, Inc. $AVAV

Future Fund LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,300 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,510,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of AVAV. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in AeroVironment during the 1st quarter valued at about $491,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 2.3% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 139,835 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $16,667,000 after purchasing an additional 3,183 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 11.2% during the first quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 5,894 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $702,000 after purchasing an additional 595 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 8.8% in the first quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leavell Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 93.6% in the first quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,550 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $542,000 after buying an additional 2,200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

AeroVironment Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of AVAV opened at $329.65 on Friday. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 1-year low of $102.25 and a 1-year high of $417.86. The company has a current ratio of 5.96, a quick ratio of 5.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $325.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $254.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -515.07, a PEG ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 1.09.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 28th. The aerospace company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $132.62 million during the quarter. AeroVironment had a negative net margin of 4.14% and a positive return on equity of 4.67%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $305.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $295.00 to $389.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on AeroVironment from $300.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, BTIG Research upped their price target on AeroVironment from $300.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AeroVironment has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $356.07.

Insider Activity at AeroVironment

In related news, insider Trace E. Stevenson sold 1,717 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $381.00, for a total transaction of $654,177.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 4,907 shares in the company, valued at $1,869,567. The trade was a 25.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 998 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 approximately $7,724,575.76. The trade was a 4.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

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.