Short Interest in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) Increases By 18.5%

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,880,000 shares, a growth of 18.5% from the December 15th total of 2,430,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 441,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.5 days.

Insider Transactions at AeroVironment

In other news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.73, for a total value of $78,697.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,273,480.56. The trade was a 2.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Veracity Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of AeroVironment by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 4,571 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $703,000 after buying an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in AeroVironment by 22.1% during the 4th quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 30,729 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,729,000 after acquiring an additional 5,564 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in AeroVironment by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 20,409 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,141,000 after purchasing an additional 2,601 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of AeroVironment by 59.7% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,174 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $796,000 after purchasing an additional 1,935 shares during the period. Finally, KRS Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 33.4% in the fourth quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC now owns 2,171 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on AVAV. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the company from $240.00 to $230.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AeroVironment has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $225.20.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AVAV traded up $3.35 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $168.74. 317,423 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 430,256. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 96.98 and a beta of 0.50. AeroVironment has a one year low of $119.46 and a one year high of $236.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a current ratio of 4.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $175.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $185.66.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.29). AeroVironment had a net margin of 6.39% and a return on equity of 8.12%. The business had revenue of $188.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $181.80 million. AeroVironment’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that AeroVironment will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.