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

Shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) have earned an average rating of “Buy” from the eight analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $211.83.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AVAV. Robert W. Baird upgraded AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $161.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Raymond James downgraded AeroVironment from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $240.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $216.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

AVAV opened at $165.62 on Friday. AeroVironment has a twelve month low of $116.51 and a twelve month high of $236.60. The stock has a market cap of $4.67 billion, a PE ratio of 95.18 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s 50 day moving average is $208.78 and its 200-day moving average is $194.37. The company has a current ratio of 4.26, a quick ratio of 3.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.29). The firm had revenue of $188.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $181.80 million. AeroVironment had a return on equity of 9.87% and a net margin of 7.82%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that AeroVironment will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AeroVironment

In other news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 878 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.54, for a total value of $184,854.12. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 1,782 shares of company stock valued at $373,609 in the last three months. 1.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AeroVironment

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 29.1% in the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 1,951,393 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $391,254,000 after acquiring an additional 439,717 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in AeroVironment by 0.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,582,871 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $317,366,000 after buying an additional 7,471 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in AeroVironment by 0.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 634,189 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $127,180,000 after buying an additional 4,948 shares during the last quarter. Heard Capital LLC increased its position in AeroVironment by 25.5% during the third quarter. Heard Capital LLC now owns 592,136 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $118,723,000 after buying an additional 120,447 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in 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 during the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.