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

Shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) have been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $225.20.

A number of analysts have commented on AVAV shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of 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 report on Wednesday, November 20th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Thursday, December 5th.

Insider Transactions at AeroVironment

In other news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.73, for a total transaction of $78,697.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,273,480.56. This represents a 2.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AeroVironment

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of AeroVironment by 299.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,821 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,037,000 after acquiring an additional 3,614 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of AeroVironment by 22.7% during the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,893 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $599,000 after purchasing an additional 721 shares during the period. Driehaus Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in AeroVironment by 120.6% in the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 136,603 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $24,884,000 after purchasing an additional 74,672 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in AeroVironment by 740.9% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 63,919 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $9,836,000 after purchasing an additional 56,318 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in AeroVironment during the second quarter worth $1,179,000. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AVAV opened at $177.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 4.61 and a quick ratio of 3.36. AeroVironment has a 1 year low of $119.46 and a 1 year high of $236.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.02 billion, a PE ratio of 102.23 and a beta of 0.50. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $172.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $185.76.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.29). The business had revenue of $188.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $181.80 million. AeroVironment had a return on equity of 8.12% and a net margin of 6.39%. AeroVironment’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AeroVironment will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.