AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) Receives Average Rating of "Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• AeroVironment, Inc. has received a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from twenty analysts, with two holding, sixteen buying, and two strongly buying the stock.
• The average 12-month price target for AeroVironment shares is $356.07, with recent ratings and price targets from major firms indicating strong market interest.
• AeroVironment reported earnings of $0.12 EPS with a revenue of $132.62 million for the last quarter; however, it has a negative net margin of 4.14%.

Shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the twenty analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, sixteen have given a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $356.0714.

A number of analysts recently commented on AVAV shares. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on AeroVironment in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $335.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on AeroVironment from $320.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. KeyCorp started coverage on AeroVironment in a report on Sunday, June 29th. They set an "overweight" rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on AeroVironment from $300.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on AeroVironment in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $300.00 price target on the stock.

AeroVironment Stock Down 6.3%

AVAV stock opened at $350.59 on Monday. AeroVironment has a twelve month low of $102.25 and a twelve month high of $417.86. The company has a quick ratio of 5.12, a current ratio of 5.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock's 50 day moving average is $289.71 and its 200-day moving average is $230.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.50 billion, a PE ratio of -547.79, a P/E/G ratio of 5.95 and a beta of 0.99.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 28th. The aerospace company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $132.62 million for the quarter. AeroVironment had a positive return on equity of 4.67% and a negative net margin of 4.14%. Sell-side analysts expect that AeroVironment will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AeroVironment news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 998 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $399.74, for a total value of $398,940.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 19,324 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,724,575.76. This trade represents a 4.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Trace E. Stevenson sold 1,717 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $381.00, for a total value of $654,177.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 4,907 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,869,567. This represents a 25.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of AeroVironment

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of AeroVironment by 14.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,478,114 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $991,089,000 after purchasing an additional 433,830 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its position in shares of AeroVironment by 48.2% in the first quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 902,814 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $107,606,000 after purchasing an additional 293,553 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of AeroVironment by 41.0% in the first quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 763,489 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $91,000,000 after purchasing an additional 221,948 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of AeroVironment by 1.0% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 678,431 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $193,342,000 after purchasing an additional 6,475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of AeroVironment by 75.6% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 609,019 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $173,540,000 after purchasing an additional 262,239 shares in the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.

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