AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Shares Gap Down to $192.11

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) shares gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $192.11, but opened at $187.19. AeroVironment shares last traded at $176.35, with a volume of 66,868 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVAV has been the topic of a number of research reports. Baird R W upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Raymond James downgraded AeroVironment from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $216.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Robert W. Baird upgraded AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $161.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on AeroVironment from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.20.

AeroVironment Stock Up 1.2 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $179.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $175.89. 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 company has a market cap of $4.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.81 and a beta of 0.50.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.28. AeroVironment had a return on equity of 9.87% and a net margin of 7.82%. The business had revenue of $189.48 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $183.18 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AeroVironment

In related news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 511 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.45, for a total transaction of $91,187.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 21,334 shares in the company, valued at $3,807,052.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 9,867 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 99,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,904,723.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 511 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.45, for a total value of $91,187.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 21,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,807,052.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,287 shares of company stock worth $1,928,305 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AeroVironment

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AVAV. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the first quarter worth $26,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the first quarter valued at about $38,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the first quarter worth about $61,000. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.