AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) have received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $208.20.

AVAV has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Baird R W raised AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Robert W. Baird upgraded AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $161.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $216.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Raymond James cut shares of AeroVironment from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th.

AeroVironment Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AVAV opened at $216.00 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.09 billion, a PE ratio of 101.41 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 3.04 and a current ratio of 4.26. The company’s fifty day moving average is $200.78 and its 200-day moving average is $188.76. AeroVironment has a 52 week low of $116.51 and a 52 week high of $227.18.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $189.48 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $183.18 million. AeroVironment had a net margin of 7.82% and a return on equity of 9.87%. The company’s revenue was up 24.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.00 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that AeroVironment will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 878 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.54, for a total value of $184,854.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,658,343.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AeroVironment

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Security National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in AeroVironment in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI lifted its stake in AeroVironment by 23.1% in the 3rd quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 400 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its stake in AeroVironment by 47.4% in the 3rd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 432 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in AeroVironment during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $95,000. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.