AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV – Get Rating) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 889,000 shares, a drop of 6.1% from the May 15th total of 947,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 223,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.0 days.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of equities analysts recently commented on AVAV shares. Raymond James raised AeroVironment from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on AeroVironment from $106.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Thursday, April 13th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on AeroVironment in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on AeroVironment in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $114.00.
Insider Activity
In other news, Director Stephen F. Page sold 2,105 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.78, for a total transaction of $191,091.90. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 45,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,150,552.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On AeroVironment
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AVAV. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of AeroVironment by 60.5% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 8,134 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $766,000 after purchasing an additional 3,066 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of AeroVironment by 54.1% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,679 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $348,000 after purchasing an additional 1,291 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its position in shares of AeroVironment by 20.3% during the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 18,444 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,736,000 after purchasing an additional 3,117 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of AeroVironment by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 6,918 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $656,000 after purchasing an additional 894 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of AeroVironment by 41.4% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 11,831 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 3,466 shares during the last quarter. 88.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
AeroVironment Trading Down 0.7 %
NASDAQ AVAV opened at $93.88 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -268.23 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $101.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.01. AeroVironment has a 12 month low of $70.08 and a 12 month high of $112.39. The company has a current ratio of 3.36, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.
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 four segments: Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), Tactical Missile System (TMS), Medium Unmanned Aircraft Systems (MUAS), and High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite Systems (HAPS).