AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Upgraded by Robert W. Baird to Outperform

Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Robert W. Baird currently has $128.00 price objective on the aerospace company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $95.00.

AVAV has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Thursday, June 15th. They set a buy rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a hold rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AeroVironment currently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average target price of $121.60.

AeroVironment Trading Up 20.7 %

AVAV opened at $115.05 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $96.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $96.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.55 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 3.93 and a quick ratio of 2.79. AeroVironment has a 1-year low of $74.91 and a 1-year high of $124.33.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 5th. The aerospace company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.74. The business had revenue of $152.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $128.50 million. AeroVironment had a negative net margin of 32.60% and a positive return on equity of 5.25%. The business’s revenue was up 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.10) EPS. Analysts expect that AeroVironment will post 2.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of AeroVironment

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in AeroVironment by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,468,250 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $457,013,000 after purchasing an additional 50,580 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 3.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,583,102 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $215,328,000 after acquiring an additional 80,680 shares in the last quarter. American Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 1.0% in the first quarter. American Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,468,641 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $134,616,000 after acquiring an additional 15,172 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,430,804 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $119,272,000 after acquiring an additional 16,440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 13.6% in the second quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 846,708 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $86,601,000 after acquiring an additional 101,681 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% 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.