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

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the twenty-three ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation, eighteen have assigned a buy recommendation and three have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $362.5625.

Several research analysts recently commented on AVAV shares. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $300.00 to $348.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. New Street Research set a $365.00 target price on AeroVironment in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Zacks Research upgraded AeroVironment from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on AeroVironment in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $355.00 price objective on the stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Trace E. Stevenson sold 1,717 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $381.00, for a total transaction of $654,177.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 4,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,869,567. The trade was a 25.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 513 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.46, for a total transaction of $170,038.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,811 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,235,094.06. The trade was a 2.65% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,228 shares of company stock worth $1,223,157. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AeroVironment

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 722 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 512.4% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 10,104 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,200,000 after purchasing an additional 8,454 shares in the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd increased its position in shares of AeroVironment by 95.5% in the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 1,472 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $464,000 after purchasing an additional 719 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the third quarter worth approximately $314,890,000. Finally, Strategic Advocates LLC purchased a new stake in AeroVironment in the third quarter valued at approximately $83,000. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AeroVironment Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of AVAV opened at $282.47 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $335.20 and a 200 day moving average of $273.37. AeroVironment has a fifty-two week low of $102.25 and a fifty-two week high of $417.86. The firm has a market cap of $14.10 billion, a P/E ratio of -441.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 5.12 and a current ratio of 5.96.

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

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.