Royal Bank Of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Stock

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $200.00 to $275.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the aerospace company's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's price target suggests a potential upside of 11.81% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on AVAV. Wedbush upgraded AeroVironment to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Raymond James Financial set a $225.00 price target on AeroVironment and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Monday. They set a "buy" rating and a $301.00 price objective for the company. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Sunday. They set an "overweight" rating on the stock. Finally, William Blair assumed coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Sunday. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AeroVironment presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $256.50.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AVAV traded down $0.31 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $245.95. 2,587,653 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 538,539. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $184.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $162.34. 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 has a one year low of $102.25 and a one year high of $295.90. The firm has a market cap of $11.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 158.68 and a beta of 0.96.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AeroVironment

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AVAV. Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its position in AeroVironment by 23.4% in the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 173,519 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $20,682,000 after buying an additional 32,921 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 62,969 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $7,505,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the 1st quarter worth about $191,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC bought a new position in AeroVironment during the 1st quarter valued at about $508,000. Finally, Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AeroVironment in the 1st quarter worth about $508,000. 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.