AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Cut to Hold at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $240.00 target price on the aerospace company’s stock.

AVAV has been the topic of several other research reports. Robert W. Baird raised AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $161.00 to $220.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Raymond James downgraded shares of AeroVironment from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Baird R W upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $216.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price objective on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AeroVironment currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $213.50.

AeroVironment Stock Down 6.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ AVAV opened at $204.25 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 95.89 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $205.74 and its 200 day moving average is $192.69. AeroVironment has a 52 week low of $116.51 and a 52 week high of $236.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 3.04 and a current ratio of 4.26.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $189.48 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $183.18 million. AeroVironment had a net margin of 7.82% and a return on equity of 9.87%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that AeroVironment will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AeroVironment

In related news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.22, for a total transaction of $77,703.12. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,254 shares in the company, valued at $3,581,799.88. The trade was a 2.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 1,782 shares of company stock worth $372,615 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AeroVironment

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AVAV. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the 3rd quarter worth about $100,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in AeroVironment by 50.1% in the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 64,810 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $12,994,000 after acquiring an additional 21,643 shares during the period. Glenmede Trust Co. NA acquired a new stake in AeroVironment in the third quarter valued at approximately $229,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the third quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the third quarter worth approximately $212,000. 86.38% of the stock is owned by 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.