AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) PT Lowered to $215.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) had its price target reduced by Royal Bank of Canada from $230.00 to $215.00 in a research note published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

AVAV has been the topic of several other research reports. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a buy rating and a $255.00 target price on the stock. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded AeroVironment from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and set a $216.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Robert W. Baird raised AeroVironment from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and increased their target price for the stock from $161.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded AeroVironment from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AeroVironment currently has an average rating of Buy and an average price target of $210.20.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

NASDAQ AVAV opened at $179.47 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $5.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.84 and a beta of 0.50. AeroVironment has a 52-week low of $104.67 and a 52-week high of $224.00. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $177.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $173.11. The company has a quick ratio of 2.52, a current ratio of 3.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.28. AeroVironment had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 8.32%. The company had revenue of $189.48 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $183.18 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.00 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 24.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that AeroVironment will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 9,867 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.23, for a total transaction of $1,669,792.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 99,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,904,723.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 513 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.70, for a total value of $89,621.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,650 shares in the company, valued at $3,258,155. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 99,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,904,723.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,287 shares of company stock worth $1,928,305 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AeroVironment

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 160.7% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 90,946 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $11,463,000 after acquiring an additional 56,062 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 322,445 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $40,641,000 after buying an additional 17,985 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of AeroVironment by 119.6% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 13,717 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,729,000 after buying an additional 7,470 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in shares of AeroVironment by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,813 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $481,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 50.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 401 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.