Robert W. Baird Has Lowered Expectations for AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Stock Price

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) had its price objective dropped by stock analysts at Robert W. Baird from $220.00 to $146.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the aerospace company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s target price points to a potential upside of 8.09% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $240.00 to $230.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.40.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

Shares of AVAV stock opened at $135.07 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.63 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a current ratio of 4.61. AeroVironment has a 52 week low of $110.07 and a 52 week high of $236.60. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $164.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $184.03.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.29). The firm had revenue of $188.46 million for 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 company’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AeroVironment will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AeroVironment

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Radnor Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC now owns 5,965 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,196,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Investments LLC raised its stake in AeroVironment by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Redwood Investments LLC now owns 9,273 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,427,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 8,170 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,257,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,601 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $246,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 17,618 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,711,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

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.