Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Has $33.21 Million Stake in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its stake in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 165,645 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,545 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. owned 0.59% of AeroVironment worth $33,212,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in AeroVironment by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,094,831 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $474,376,000 after purchasing an additional 179,395 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 132.7% in the second quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 1,511,676 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $275,367,000 after acquiring an additional 861,962 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of AeroVironment by 19,950.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 267,066 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $53,547,000 after acquiring an additional 265,734 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust lifted its holdings in AeroVironment by 2.0% during the second quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 158,968 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $28,958,000 after acquiring an additional 3,098 shares during the period. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC grew its stake in AeroVironment by 120.6% in the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 136,603 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $24,884,000 after purchasing an additional 74,672 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,581,799.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,787 shares of company stock worth $352,178. 1.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AVAV traded down $2.56 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $218.29. 56,150 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 335,866. The company has a market cap of $6.16 billion, a PE ratio of 103.69 and a beta of 0.50. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 52-week low of $112.67 and a 52-week high of $227.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 4.26 and a quick ratio of 3.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $198.98 and a 200 day moving average of $187.61.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts’ expectations of $183.18 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.00 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AVAV. Robert W. Baird raised shares of AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $161.00 to $220.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Raymond James lowered AeroVironment from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.20.

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.