AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s Why

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday . 163,505 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 51% from the previous session’s volume of 335,428 shares.The stock last traded at $192.86 and had previously closed at $197.07.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVAV has been the subject of several research reports. Baird R W raised AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price target on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of AeroVironment from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $240.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Alembic Global Advisors raised AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $216.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on AeroVironment from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $213.50.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $206.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $193.64. The firm has a market cap of $5.42 billion, a PE ratio of 92.52 and a beta of 0.49. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.28. AeroVironment had a net margin of 7.82% and a return on equity of 9.87%. The business had revenue of $189.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $183.18 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 24.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at AeroVironment

In other news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.22, for a total value of $77,703.12. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,581,799.88. This trade represents a 2.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,782 shares of company stock worth $372,615. 1.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AeroVironment

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AVAV. Security National Bank acquired a new position in AeroVironment in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of AeroVironment by 51.0% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 394 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI lifted its stake in AeroVironment by 23.1% during the third quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 400 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.