AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $194.89, but opened at $204.01. AeroVironment shares last traded at $196.86, with a volume of 203,852 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AVAV. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on AeroVironment from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Alembic Global Advisors raised AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $216.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Raymond James cut shares of AeroVironment from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Baird R W upgraded AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price target on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $211.83.

AeroVironment Trading Down 2.1 %

The company has a 50 day moving average of $207.22 and a 200-day moving average of $193.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 3.04 and a current ratio of 4.26. The stock has a market cap of $5.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 91.20 and a beta of 0.49.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.28. AeroVironment had a net margin of 7.82% and a return on equity of 9.87%. The company had revenue of $189.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $183.18 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AeroVironment

In other AeroVironment news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 878 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.54, for a total value of $184,854.12. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,658,343.04. This represents a 4.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,782 shares of company stock valued at $372,615. 1.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AeroVironment

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of AeroVironment by 0.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 634,189 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $127,180,000 after purchasing an additional 4,948 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in AeroVironment by 149.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 57,245 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $11,477,000 after buying an additional 34,318 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its holdings in AeroVironment by 85.0% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 4,395 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $881,000 after purchasing an additional 2,019 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of AeroVironment by 155.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 321,479 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $64,457,000 after buying an additional 195,443 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Washington Harbour Partners LP increased its position in shares of AeroVironment by 71.0% in the 3rd quarter. Washington Harbour Partners LP now owns 21,200 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,251,000 after purchasing an additional 8,800 shares during the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.