AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) have received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the eight research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $197.83.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AVAV. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on AeroVironment from $230.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James raised AeroVironment from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on AeroVironment from $220.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Monday, May 12th.

Insider Activity at AeroVironment

In other AeroVironment news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 29,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.20, for a total transaction of $3,764,721.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 115,174 shares in the company, valued at $14,765,306.80. The trade was a 20.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AVAV. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the fourth quarter worth about $93,759,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 281.6% during the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 430,307 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $51,288,000 after purchasing an additional 317,530 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the fourth quarter worth about $46,789,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the fourth quarter worth about $37,502,000. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 41.0% in the first quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 763,489 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $91,000,000 after acquiring an additional 221,948 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

AeroVironment Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AVAV opened at $167.64 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 96.34 and a beta of 0.80. 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 52 week low of $102.25 and a 52 week high of $236.60. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $143.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $160.84.

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.