AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $175.20.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $255.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Thursday, June 27th.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

NASDAQ AVAV opened at $178.54 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $187.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $161.78. AeroVironment has a fifty-two week low of $91.25 and a fifty-two week high of $224.00. The company has a market cap of $5.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.42 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a current ratio of 3.56.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The aerospace company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $197.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.48 million. AeroVironment had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 8.32%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.99 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that AeroVironment will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 9,867 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 99,892 shares in the company, valued at $16,904,723.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 9,867 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.23, for a total value of $1,669,792.41. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 99,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,904,723.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 511 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.45, for a total transaction of $91,187.95. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 21,334 shares in the company, valued at $3,807,052.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted 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 purchasing an additional 861,962 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted 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 buying an additional 179,395 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of AeroVironment by 3,565.5% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 171,288 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $21,589,000 after acquiring an additional 166,615 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $20,287,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 187.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 221,749 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $27,949,000 after acquiring an additional 144,628 shares during the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.