AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Receives Market Outperform Rating from JMP Securities

JMP Securities reaffirmed their market outperform rating on shares of AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) in a report issued on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $325.00 price objective on the aerospace company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. William Blair began coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Sunday, June 29th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Citigroup began coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Monday, August 4th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $225.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Sunday, June 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of AeroVironment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $285.33.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AVAV opened at $247.13 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $244.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $183.75. The company has a market cap of $12.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 159.44 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 2.69, a current ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. AeroVironment has a 52 week low of $102.25 and a 52 week high of $295.90.

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

Insider Activity at AeroVironment

In other news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 17,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 122,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,153,390.65. This represents a 12.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AeroVironment

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AVAV. ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 296.0% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 99 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 120.2% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 185 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. RMG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the second quarter worth about $28,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 171.1% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 244 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. 86.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.