ARK Investment Management LLC Has $40.57 Million Stake in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

ARK Investment Management LLC decreased its position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 263,627 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,297 shares during the period. ARK Investment Management LLC’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $40,570,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its stake in AeroVironment by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 2,135,280 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $328,598,000 after purchasing an additional 183,887 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in AeroVironment by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,582,871 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $317,366,000 after purchasing an additional 7,471 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in AeroVironment by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 634,189 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $127,180,000 after purchasing an additional 4,948 shares during the period. Heard Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 25.5% during the 3rd quarter. Heard Capital LLC now owns 592,136 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $118,723,000 after buying an additional 120,447 shares during the period. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 40.0% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 541,541 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $83,338,000 after buying an additional 154,703 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVAV has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $240.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.73, for a total transaction of $78,697.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,273,480.56. This trade represents a 2.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AeroVironment Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AVAV opened at $151.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 87.12 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $166.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $185.64. The company has a quick ratio of 3.36, a current ratio of 4.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 12-month low of $121.74 and a 12-month high of $236.60.

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