AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Lowered to Sell (D+) Rating by Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• AeroVironment has been downgraded from a "hold (c-)" to a "sell (d+)" rating by Weiss Ratings, indicating a negative outlook on the stock.
• Despite the downgrade, several analysts have assigned ratings of "buy" or "strong buy" with target prices ranging from $335.00 to $389.00.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings showed a revenue of $132.62 million with a reported EPS of $0.12, alongside a negative net margin of 4.14%.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Weiss Ratings from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report issued on Friday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $295.00 to $389.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $335.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $300.00 to $348.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, New Street Research set a $365.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $356.07.

AeroVironment Price Performance

Shares of AVAV stock traded up $13.93 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $378.21. 599,929 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 912,673. AeroVironment has a 12 month low of $102.25 and a 12 month high of $417.86. The company has a market cap of $18.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -593.09, a PEG ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.99. The company's 50 day moving average price is $298.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $235.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 5.12 and a current ratio of 5.96.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at AeroVironment

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AeroVironment

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AVAV. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in AeroVironment by 14.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,478,114 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $991,089,000 after buying an additional 433,830 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 281.6% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 430,307 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $51,288,000 after purchasing an additional 317,530 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 48.2% in the 1st quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 902,814 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $107,606,000 after purchasing an additional 293,553 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the 2nd quarter worth about $75,690,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 75.6% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 609,019 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $173,540,000 after purchasing an additional 262,239 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.38% of the company's stock.

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.

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