AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) Receives $208.20 Average Price Target from Analysts

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) has received a consensus rating of “Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $208.20.

AVAV has been the topic of a number of research reports. Alembic Global Advisors raised shares of AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $216.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered 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. Robert W. Baird raised AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $161.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Raymond James lowered shares of AeroVironment from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

AeroVironment stock opened at $215.17 on Thursday. AeroVironment has a 12-month low of $111.39 and a 12-month high of $224.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 4.26 and a quick ratio of 3.04. The company has a market capitalization of $6.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 96.92 and a beta of 0.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $190.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $182.25.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $189.48 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $183.18 million. AeroVironment had a net margin of 7.82% and a return on equity of 9.87%. The firm’s revenue was up 24.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that AeroVironment will post 3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AeroVironment

In related news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.22, for a total value of $77,703.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,254 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,581,799.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,787 shares of company stock worth $352,178. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 132.7% in the 2nd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 1,511,676 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $275,367,000 after buying an additional 861,962 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in AeroVironment by 6.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,094,831 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $474,376,000 after purchasing an additional 179,395 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in AeroVironment by 187.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 221,749 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $27,949,000 after purchasing an additional 144,628 shares in the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 83.6% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 112,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $20,568,000 after buying an additional 51,428 shares in the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.