Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Sells 15,154 Shares of AeroVironment, Inc. $AVAV

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lessened its holdings in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 47.9% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 16,464 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 15,154 shares during the quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $3,014,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. F m Investments LLC bought a new stake in AeroVironment during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,775,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in AeroVironment in the fourth quarter worth about $94,655,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 92.2% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 20,173 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,168,000 after buying an additional 9,675 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 884,395 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $213,956,000 after buying an additional 71,903 shares during the period. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AeroVironment by 289.9% during the 4th quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 222,055 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $53,714,000 after buying an additional 165,106 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

AeroVironment Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AVAV traded down $3.82 during trading on Friday, hitting $144.58. 1,340,471 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,246,661. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 4.30 and a quick ratio of 3.59. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.20 and a 52-week high of $417.86. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $171.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $220.85. The company has a market cap of $7.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.29, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.39.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, June 29th. The aerospace company reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.37. AeroVironment had a positive return on equity of 3.71% and a negative net margin of 9.00%.The company had revenue of $641.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $555.97 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.61 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 133.3% compared to the same quarter last year. AeroVironment has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.020-3.340 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AVAV. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on AeroVironment from $315.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $280.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of AeroVironment to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $295.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AeroVironment has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $266.68.

AeroVironment News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting AeroVironment this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Needham, BTIG, and other analysts reiterated bullish ratings on AeroVironment, signaling continued confidence in the company’s long-term outlook. Analyst rating updates
• Positive Sentiment: One report highlighted strong fiscal Q4 results, including $642 million in revenue, 22% EBITDA margins, and a $2.7 billion backlog, suggesting solid operational execution. MarketBeat article
• Neutral Sentiment: AeroVironment was said to win a German drone order, which supports the company’s pipeline but does not by itself change the bigger valuation debate. Yahoo Finance article
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms issued reminders about the July 27 lead-plaintiff deadline in the AVAV securities class action, keeping legal risk in focus. Rosen Law Firm deadline reminder
• Negative Sentiment: RBC downgraded AeroVironment to Hold and cut its price target, citing skepticism about the company’s aggressive growth targets. RBC downgrade article

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Stephen F. Page sold 250 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.41, for a total transaction of $43,602.50. Following the sale, the director owned 49,001 shares in the company, valued at $8,546,264.41. This trade represents a 0.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 750 shares of company stock worth $133,502 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

AeroVironment Company 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.