Brokerages Set AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) Target Price at $175.20

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $175.20.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AVAV. BTIG Research began coverage on AeroVironment in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $255.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Thursday, June 27th.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AVAV opened at $178.54 on Friday. AeroVironment has a 1-year low of $91.25 and a 1-year high of $224.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 3.56 and a quick ratio of 2.52. The business has a 50 day moving average of $187.98 and a 200 day moving average of $161.78. The company has a market capitalization of $5.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.42 and a beta of 0.51.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The aerospace company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.21. AeroVironment had a net margin of 8.32% and a return on equity of 10.89%. The firm had revenue of $197.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.48 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.99 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AeroVironment will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 9,867 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.23, for a total value of $1,669,792.41. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 99,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,904,723.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 9,867 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.23, for a total value of $1,669,792.41. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 99,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,904,723.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 511 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.45, for a total transaction of $91,187.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 21,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,807,052.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AeroVironment

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVAV. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its stake in AeroVironment by 132.7% during the second quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 1,511,676 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $275,367,000 after acquiring an additional 861,962 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in AeroVironment by 6.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,094,831 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $474,376,000 after acquiring an additional 179,395 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake 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 worth $21,589,000 after acquiring an additional 166,615 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the fourth quarter valued at $20,287,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of AeroVironment by 187.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 221,749 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $27,949,000 after purchasing an additional 144,628 shares during the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.