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

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) had its target price boosted by research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $275.00 to $300.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the aerospace company’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s target price indicates a potential upside of 9.48% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on AVAV. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $225.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AeroVironment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Monday, June 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $301.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $335.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $268.00.

AeroVironment Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AVAV opened at $274.03 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. AeroVironment has a 12 month low of $102.25 and a 12 month high of $295.90. The stock has a market cap of $13.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 176.79 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a 50 day moving average of $207.55 and a 200 day moving average of $170.16.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 24th. The aerospace company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.20. AeroVironment had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 10.68%. The business had revenue of $275.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $242.69 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.43 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 39.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AeroVironment will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AeroVironment

In other news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 17,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.05, for a total value of $4,550,765.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 122,233 shares in the company, valued at $32,153,390.65. This represents a 12.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AeroVironment

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AVAV. Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in AeroVironment by 22.1% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 5,610 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,599,000 after acquiring an additional 1,014 shares during the period. Sage Rhino Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the second quarter valued at $226,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 64.3% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 654 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $186,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 296.0% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 99 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in AeroVironment by 8.1% in the second quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 16,770 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,777,000 after buying an additional 1,253 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

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.