AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Shares Up 7.1% – Time to Buy?

Shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) were up 7.1% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $168.00 and last traded at $167.58. Approximately 321,249 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 11% from the average daily volume of 362,286 shares. The stock had previously closed at $156.50.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James downgraded shares of AeroVironment from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $240.00 to $230.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $216.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Baird R W raised AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $225.20.

AeroVironment Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.28 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $200.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $191.90. The company has a current ratio of 4.61, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.29). AeroVironment had a return on equity of 8.12% and a net margin of 6.39%. The company had revenue of $188.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $181.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.97 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at AeroVironment

In other AeroVironment news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.73, for a total value of $78,697.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,273,480.56. The trade was a 2.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold 1,782 shares of company stock valued at $373,609 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AeroVironment

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Security National Bank bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in AeroVironment during the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in AeroVironment during the third quarter worth about $62,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in AeroVironment by 51.0% during the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 394 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Finally, Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI increased its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 23.1% in the third quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 400 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.