AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Trading Up 1.5% - What's Next?

Key Points

• AeroVironment's stock price increased by 1.5% to $250.35, with trading volume significantly down by 84% compared to the average daily volume.
• Analysts are bullish on the stock, with a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $285.33, while recent ratings range from "buy" to "strong-buy" with targets up to $325.00.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings report showed an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.61, exceeding expectations, and a 39.6% year-over-year increase in revenue to $275.05 million.

Shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) were up 1.5% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $249.75 and last traded at $250.35. Approximately 129,253 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 830,721 shares. The stock had previously closed at $246.65.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVAV has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group assumed coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Monday, August 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $305.00 price target for the company. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $225.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Sunday, June 29th. They set an "overweight" rating for the company. Citizens Jmp assumed coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Monday, August 4th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $325.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Monday, August 4th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AeroVironment has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $285.33.

AeroVironment Trading Up 0.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 3.52 and a quick ratio of 2.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.35 billion, a PE ratio of 159.92 and a beta of 0.99. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $243.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $183.28.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 24th. The aerospace company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $275.05 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $242.69 million. AeroVironment had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 10.68%. The company's revenue was up 39.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AeroVironment

In related news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 17,300 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.05, for a total value of $4,550,765.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 122,233 shares in the company, valued at $32,153,390.65. The trade was a 12.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.81% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of AeroVironment

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 433,830 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased 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 valued at $107,606,000 after acquiring an additional 293,553 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 41.0% in the 1st quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 763,489 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $91,000,000 after acquiring an additional 221,948 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 678,431 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $193,342,000 after acquiring an additional 6,475 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased 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 valued at $173,540,000 after acquiring an additional 262,239 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.