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

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS increased its stake in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Free Report) by 654.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,495 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 18,645 shares during the quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS owned 0.08% of AeroVironment worth $3,308,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 183,887 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 7,471 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in AeroVironment by 0.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 634,189 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $127,180,000 after purchasing an additional 4,948 shares during the last quarter. Heard Capital LLC lifted its holdings 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. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lifted its holdings 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. 86.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.73, for a total value of $78,697.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,273,480.56. This represents a 2.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AeroVironment Price Performance

Shares of AVAV traded down $3.34 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $154.79. 331,416 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 371,100. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $166.76 and a 200-day moving average of $185.80. AeroVironment, Inc. has a one year low of $121.38 and a one year high of $236.60. The firm has a market cap of $4.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 88.96 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 4.61 and a quick ratio of 3.36.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.29). The company 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%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on AVAV shares. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of AeroVironment from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $240.00 to $230.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AeroVironment currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $225.20.

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.