Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $9.84 Million Position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Free Report) by 740.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 63,919 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 56,318 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.23% of AeroVironment worth $9,836,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AeroVironment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of AeroVironment by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 38,585 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $7,736,000 after purchasing an additional 1,705 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 299.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,821 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,037,000 after purchasing an additional 3,614 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in AeroVironment by 39.6% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 7,451 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,494,000 after purchasing an additional 2,115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in AeroVironment by 0.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 634,189 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $127,180,000 after buying an additional 4,948 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AVAV shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price target for the company from $240.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. 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, AeroVironment currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $225.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.73, for a total value of $78,697.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,472 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,273,480.56. This represents a 2.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.27% of the company's stock.

AeroVironment Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of AVAV traded up $3.35 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $168.74. The stock had a trading volume of 317,423 shares, compared to its average volume of 430,256. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 4.61 and a quick ratio of 3.36. The firm has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 96.98 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $175.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $185.66. AeroVironment, Inc. has a twelve month low of $119.46 and a twelve month high of $236.60.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) 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). AeroVironment had a return on equity of 8.12% and a net margin of 6.39%. The firm had revenue of $188.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $181.80 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. The company's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

About AeroVironment

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.