Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Boosts Stock Holdings in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS boosted its stake in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 654.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,495 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,645 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $3,308,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AVAV. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its stake in AeroVironment by 29.1% during the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 1,951,393 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $391,254,000 after acquiring an additional 439,717 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in AeroVironment by 19,950.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 267,066 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $53,547,000 after purchasing an additional 265,734 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in AeroVironment by 155.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 321,479 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $64,457,000 after purchasing an additional 195,443 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lifted its position in AeroVironment by 40.0% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 541,541 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $83,338,000 after purchasing an additional 154,703 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heard Capital LLC lifted its position in AeroVironment by 25.5% during the third quarter. Heard Capital LLC now owns 592,136 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $118,723,000 after purchasing an additional 120,447 shares during the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at AeroVironment

In related news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.73, for a total transaction of $78,697.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,472 shares in the company, valued at $3,273,480.56. This trade represents a 2.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on AVAV. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $240.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.20.

AeroVironment Price Performance

AeroVironment stock opened at $155.30 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $166.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $186.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.38 billion, a PE ratio of 89.25 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 4.61, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 12-month low of $121.38 and a 12-month high of $236.60.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.29). The firm had revenue of $188.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $181.80 million. AeroVironment had a return on equity of 8.12% and a net margin of 6.39%. AeroVironment’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.97 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

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.