AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) Given Consensus Rating of "Buy" by Brokerages

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Buy" from the eight research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $208.50.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of AeroVironment from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $230.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $146.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th.

Insider Transactions at AeroVironment

In related news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 29,366 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.20, for a total transaction of $3,764,721.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 115,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,765,306.80. The trade was a 20.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AeroVironment

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AVAV. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in AeroVironment by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 45,272 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $6,967,000 after purchasing an additional 6,589 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new position in AeroVironment during the fourth quarter worth $404,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in AeroVironment by 415.7% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 198,975 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $30,620,000 after purchasing an additional 160,390 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in AeroVironment by 63.0% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 217,806 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $33,518,000 after purchasing an additional 84,170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in AeroVironment by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 136,652 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $21,029,000 after purchasing an additional 4,107 shares during the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AeroVironment Price Performance

Shares of AeroVironment stock opened at $186.67 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a current ratio of 4.61. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $164.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $157.54. AeroVironment has a twelve month low of $102.25 and a twelve month high of $236.60. The firm has a market cap of $5.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 107.28 and a beta of 0.81.

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.

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