AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Lowered to Hold Rating by Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAVFree Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has $240.00 price target on the aerospace company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on AVAV. Baird R W raised shares of AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $216.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $161.00 to $220.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $213.50.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on AeroVironment

AeroVironment Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AVAV opened at $200.06 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.04, a current ratio of 4.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $206.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $192.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.64 billion, a PE ratio of 93.92 and a beta of 0.49. AeroVironment has a 12-month low of $116.51 and a 12-month high of $236.60.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAVGet Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $189.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $183.18 million. AeroVironment had a return on equity of 9.87% and a net margin of 7.82%. The business’s revenue was up 24.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.00 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that AeroVironment will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.22, for a total value of $77,703.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,581,799.88. The trade was a 2.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 1,782 shares of company stock valued at $372,615 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,094,831 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $474,376,000 after purchasing an additional 179,395 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 29.1% during the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 1,951,393 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $391,254,000 after buying an additional 439,717 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,582,871 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $317,366,000 after acquiring an additional 7,471 shares in the last quarter. Heard Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 25.5% in the third quarter. Heard Capital LLC now owns 592,136 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $118,723,000 after purchasing an additional 120,447 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of AeroVironment by 155.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 321,479 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $64,457,000 after purchasing an additional 195,443 shares in the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About AeroVironment

(Get Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

Analyst Recommendations for AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV)

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