AGP Franklin LLC Makes New Investment in AeroVironment, Inc. $AVAV

AGP Franklin LLC purchased a new stake in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,173 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $999,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in AeroVironment by 60.0% during the 3rd quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 80 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 296.0% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 99 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. RMG Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in AeroVironment during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new position in AeroVironment during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVAV has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $390.00 price objective on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. New Street Research set a $365.00 price target on AeroVironment in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, KeyCorp set a $285.00 price target on AeroVironment in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $375.41.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

AeroVironment stock opened at $309.57 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $287.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $294.39. The company has a quick ratio of 4.29, a current ratio of 5.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. AeroVironment, Inc. has a twelve month low of $102.25 and a twelve month high of $417.86. The company has a market capitalization of $15.46 billion, a PE ratio of -247.66, a P/E/G ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.16.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, December 9th. The aerospace company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.43). AeroVironment had a negative net margin of 5.08% and a positive return on equity of 3.42%. The company had revenue of $472.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $466.16 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 150.7% on a year-over-year basis. AeroVironment has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.400-3.550 EPS. Research analysts expect that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AeroVironment

In related news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.60, for a total value of $367,232.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 17,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,359,847.60. This represents a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Brian Charles Shackley sold 200 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.92, for a total transaction of $50,184.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 5,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,504,014.48. The trade was a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 3,223 shares of company stock valued at $1,092,503 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

AeroVironment Profile

AeroVironment, Inc (NASDAQ:AVAV) is a technology company specializing in unmanned aerial systems (UAS), tactical missiles and precision loitering munitions, electric vehicle charging and scalable energy systems. Headquartered in Monrovia, California, the company develops solutions for defense, public safety and commercial markets. Their offerings include small UAS for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, as well as advanced weapons systems designed to meet the needs of modern military operations.

The company’s unmanned aerial systems portfolio features platforms such as the Raven, Puma and Switchblade series, which are deployed by the U.S.