Robert W. Baird Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Stock

Key Points

• Analysts at Robert W. Baird have increased their price target for AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) from $210.00 to $267.00, maintaining an "outperform" rating for the stock.
• The company reported a significant earnings beat with $1.61 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.41, along with a revenue increase of 39.6% year-over-year.
• Institutional investors have shown strong interest, with 86.38% of the stock currently owned by institutions, including notable increases in ownership by firms like Alyeska Investment Group and Ameriprise Financial.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by stock analysts at Robert W. Baird from $210.00 to $267.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the aerospace company's stock. Robert W. Baird's target price points to a potential upside of 2.66% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on AVAV. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on AeroVironment from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on AeroVironment in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $335.00 target price for the company. William Blair started coverage on AeroVironment in a research report on Sunday, June 29th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. JMP Securities started coverage on AeroVironment in a research report on Monday. They set a "market outperform" rating and a $325.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on AeroVironment from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $283.55.

AeroVironment Price Performance

Shares of AVAV stock opened at $260.07 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $228.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.69. The company has a quick ratio of 2.69, a current ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a market cap of $12.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 167.79 and a beta of 0.99. AeroVironment has a 12 month low of $102.25 and a 12 month high of $295.90.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 17,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was 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 directly owned 122,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,153,390.65. The trade was a 12.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.27% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AeroVironment

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AVAV. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lifted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in AeroVironment by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 654,024 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $100,670,000 after acquiring an additional 19,835 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in AeroVironment by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 456,486 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $54,409,000 after acquiring an additional 33,169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in AeroVironment by 281.6% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 430,307 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $51,288,000 after acquiring an additional 317,530 shares in the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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