AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $356.0714.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $300.00 to $348.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $267.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Bank of America began coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $300.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

AeroVironment stock opened at $378.54 on Monday. AeroVironment has a 12-month low of $102.25 and a 12-month high of $417.86. The company has a market capitalization of $18.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -591.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.34 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 5.96 and a quick ratio of 5.12. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $301.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $238.87.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 28th. The aerospace company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. AeroVironment had a negative net margin of 4.14% and a positive return on equity of 4.67%. The firm had revenue of $132.62 million for the quarter. On average, research analysts forecast that AeroVironment will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 998 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $399.74, for a total value of $398,940.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 19,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,724,575.76. The trade was a 4.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Trace E. Stevenson sold 1,717 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $381.00, for a total transaction of $654,177.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 4,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,869,567. The trade was a 25.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AeroVironment

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of AeroVironment by 13.5% during the 2nd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 8,068 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,299,000 after buying an additional 961 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its position in AeroVironment by 41.0% in the first quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 763,489 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $91,000,000 after buying an additional 221,948 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in AeroVironment by 35.4% in the first quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 17,873 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,130,000 after buying an additional 4,669 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR lifted its stake in AeroVironment by 94.8% in the first quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 4,415 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $526,000 after buying an additional 2,148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. bought a new stake in AeroVironment in the first quarter valued at $1,142,000. Institutional investors own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

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.