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 six analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $140.20.

AVAV has been the topic of a number of research reports. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on AeroVironment from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $161.00 price target on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Friday, March 8th.

AeroVironment Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AVAV opened at $149.72 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 4.66, a quick ratio of 3.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market cap of $4.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -34.74 and a beta of 0.44. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $144.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $130.86. AeroVironment has a twelve month low of $88.24 and a twelve month high of $184.61.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $186.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $170.62 million. AeroVironment had a negative net margin of 15.14% and a positive return on equity of 13.93%. AeroVironment’s quarterly revenue was up 38.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.33 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that AeroVironment will post 2.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Trace E. Stevenson sold 1,913 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.00, for a total transaction of $350,079.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $470,310. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other AeroVironment news, VP Trace E. Stevenson sold 1,913 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.00, for a total transaction of $350,079.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,570 shares in the company, valued at $470,310. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Melissa Ann Brown sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.77, for a total transaction of $176,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,181,165.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AeroVironment

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its stake in AeroVironment by 106.9% in the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 556,853 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $62,106,000 after acquiring an additional 287,730 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 7.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,860,954 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $319,082,000 after purchasing an additional 209,359 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of AeroVironment by 3,565.5% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 171,288 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $21,589,000 after purchasing an additional 166,615 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the 4th quarter worth approximately $20,287,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in AeroVironment by 187.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 221,749 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $27,949,000 after buying an additional 144,628 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.