AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Coverage Initiated at The Goldman Sachs Group

Equities research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set a "buy" rating and a $301.00 price target on the aerospace company's stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 22.39% from the company's current price.

AVAV has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $240.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Sunday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on AeroVironment from $146.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Wedbush raised AeroVironment to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $225.00 target price on AeroVironment and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AeroVironment presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $256.50.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

AVAV stock traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $245.95. The company had a trading volume of 2,587,653 shares, compared to its average volume of 537,328. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.94 billion, a PE ratio of 158.68 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $184.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $162.34. AeroVironment has a fifty-two week low of $102.25 and a fifty-two week high of $295.90. The company has a quick ratio of 2.69, a current ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 24th. The aerospace company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.20. AeroVironment had a return on equity of 10.68% and a net margin of 5.32%. The business had revenue of $275.05 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $242.69 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.43 EPS. The business's revenue was up 39.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that AeroVironment will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its stake in AeroVironment by 120.2% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 185 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Advisors bought a new position in AeroVironment during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in AeroVironment during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in AeroVironment by 171.1% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 244 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Finally, Spirit of America Management Corp NY bought a new stake in AeroVironment in the first quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.38% of the company's stock.

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.