AeroVironment's (AVAV) "Outperform" Rating Reiterated at Royal Bank of Canada

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating reiterated by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $190.00 price objective on the aerospace company's stock. Royal Bank of Canada's target price points to a potential upside of 13.74% from the stock's previous close.

AVAV has been the topic of a number of other research reports. 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 report on Tuesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $230.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $220.00 to $146.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $197.83.

AeroVironment Trading Up 1.0%

NASDAQ:AVAV traded up $1.58 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $167.05. The company had a trading volume of 125,078 shares, compared to its average volume of 410,374. The company has a market capitalization of $4.71 billion, a PE ratio of 95.92 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $136.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $163.33. AeroVironment has a 52 week low of $102.25 and a 52 week high of $236.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 4.61 and a quick ratio of 3.36.

Insider Transactions at AeroVironment

In other AeroVironment news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 29,366 shares of the firm'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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 115,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,765,306.80. This trade represents a 20.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.27% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AeroVironment

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVAV. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in AeroVironment during the 4th quarter worth approximately $93,759,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,789,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,502,000. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC grew its holdings 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. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 2,135,280 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $328,598,000 after purchasing an additional 183,887 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.

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