ARK Investment Management LLC Has $62.37 Million Position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

ARK Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 494,827 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 41,524 shares during the quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC owned approximately 1.76% of AeroVironment worth $62,368,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AVAV. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in AeroVironment by 60.5% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 8,134 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $766,000 after purchasing an additional 3,066 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in AeroVironment by 54.1% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,679 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 1,291 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its position in AeroVironment by 20.3% during the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 18,444 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,736,000 after purchasing an additional 3,117 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in AeroVironment by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 6,918 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $656,000 after purchasing an additional 894 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in AeroVironment by 41.4% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 11,831 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 3,466 shares in the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AeroVironment Trading Down 1.0 %

AVAV opened at $149.28 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $135.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $125.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 4.66 and a quick ratio of 3.16. AeroVironment, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $88.24 and a fifty-two week high of $184.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.64 and a beta of 0.42.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $186.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.62 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.33 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 38.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 2.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Trace E. Stevenson sold 1,913 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $470,310. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, VP Trace E. Stevenson sold 1,913 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $470,310. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Melissa Ann Brown sold 1,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,339 shares in the company, valued at $2,181,165.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVAV has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $161.00 price objective on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $139.20.

AeroVironment Profile

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.