AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) Short Interest Up 14.0% in April

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 848,900 shares, a growth of 14.0% from the March 31st total of 744,900 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 357,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Insider Activity at AeroVironment

In other AeroVironment news, VP Trace E. Stevenson sold 1,913 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.00, for a total value of $350,079.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,570 shares in the company, valued at $470,310. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other AeroVironment news, VP Trace E. Stevenson sold 1,913 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.00, for a total transaction of $350,079.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,310. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Melissa Ann Brown sold 1,000 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.77, for a total transaction of $176,770.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,181,165.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AeroVironment

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Bfsg LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in AeroVironment in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI increased its position in AeroVironment by 44.1% during the 4th quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 327 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $161.00 price target on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Friday, March 8th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.20.

AeroVironment Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AVAV traded up $3.32 on Monday, hitting $161.41. The company had a trading volume of 103,913 shares, compared to its average volume of 325,696. AeroVironment has a 1 year low of $88.24 and a 1 year high of $184.61. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $147.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $132.27. The company has a current ratio of 4.66, a quick ratio of 3.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last released its earnings results on Monday, March 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.30. AeroVironment had a negative net margin of 15.14% and a positive return on equity of 13.93%. The firm had revenue of $186.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.62 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.33 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 38.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that AeroVironment will post 2.8 earnings per share for the current 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.