AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Analysts

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) has been given a consensus rating of “Buy” by the eight ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $202.40.

AVAV has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on AeroVironment from $220.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $230.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Wednesday, March 5th.

Insider Activity at AeroVironment

In related news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 29,366 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.20, for a total value of $3,764,721.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 115,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,765,306.80. This trade represents a 20.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AeroVironment

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in AeroVironment by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,098,822 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $476,878,000 after buying an additional 35,543 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 2,135,280 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $328,598,000 after acquiring an additional 183,887 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 0.5% in 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 654,024 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $100,670,000 after purchasing an additional 19,835 shares during the period. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in AeroVironment during the 4th quarter valued at about $93,759,000. 86.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

NASDAQ AVAV opened at $126.84 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.36, a current ratio of 4.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. AeroVironment has a twelve month low of $110.07 and a twelve month high of $236.60. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $149.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $175.26. The firm has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.90 and a beta of 0.42.

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.