Norges Bank Purchases New Stake in AeroVironment, Inc. $AVAV

Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 265,626 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,690,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 21.5% during the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 237 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank lifted its position in AeroVironment by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 8,023 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,286,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in AeroVironment by 60.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 117 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. increased its holdings in AeroVironment by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 2,885 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $822,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AeroVironment Stock Up 5.8%

Shares of NASDAQ AVAV opened at $287.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 5.96 and a quick ratio of 5.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.35 billion, a PE ratio of -449.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 1.13. AeroVironment, Inc. has a one year low of $102.25 and a one year high of $417.86. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $336.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $270.29.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 28th. The aerospace company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $132.62 million for the quarter. AeroVironment had a positive return on equity of 4.67% and a negative net margin of 4.14%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at AeroVironment

In other news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 513 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.46, for a total value of $170,038.98. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 18,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,235,094.06. The trade was a 2.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Trace E. Stevenson sold 1,717 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $381.00, for a total transaction of $654,177.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 4,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,869,567. This trade represents a 25.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 3,228 shares of company stock worth $1,223,157. Insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler started coverage on AeroVironment in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $391.00 price objective on the stock. JMP Securities upped their price objective on AeroVironment from $325.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on AeroVironment in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $355.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AeroVironment to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $358.19.

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.