Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Takes Position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS bought a new stake in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,850 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $359,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 26.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 77,121 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $8,601,000 after acquiring an additional 16,107 shares in the last quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the third quarter valued at about $1,190,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 6.5% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 232,585 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,940,000 after purchasing an additional 14,193 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC lifted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 135.5% in the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 13,280 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,481,000 after purchasing an additional 7,640 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the fourth quarter valued at about $20,287,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVAV has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $161.00 price objective on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.20.

Insider Transactions at AeroVironment

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

AeroVironment Stock Performance

Shares of AVAV opened at $150.02 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 4.66, a quick ratio of 3.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market cap of $4.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -34.81 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a 50-day moving average of $144.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $130.56. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 12-month low of $88.24 and a 12-month high of $184.61.

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

AeroVironment Company 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.