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

Shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) have been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the seven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $210.20.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AVAV shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $255.00 price target on the stock. 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 report on Wednesday, August 28th. Baird R W upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $161.00 to $220.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 28th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 9,867 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.23, for a total transaction of $1,669,792.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 99,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,904,723.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other AeroVironment news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 511 shares of the company’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 directly owns 21,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,807,052.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 9,867 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.23, for a total transaction of $1,669,792.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 99,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,904,723.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,287 shares of company stock worth $1,928,305. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AeroVironment

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AVAV. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in AeroVironment by 1.5% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 4,609 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $840,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in AeroVironment by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,882 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $615,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in AeroVironment by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,813 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $481,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in AeroVironment by 0.6% during the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 17,667 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,708,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, North Star Investment Management Corp. raised its holdings in AeroVironment by 8.8% during the first quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 1,268 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $194,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AeroVironment Stock Up 3.6 %

AVAV stock opened at $192.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 4.26 and a quick ratio of 3.04. AeroVironment has a 52-week low of $104.67 and a 52-week high of $224.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $179.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $175.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.54 and a beta of 0.50.

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