AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Price Target Lowered to $215.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) had its target price lowered by Royal Bank of Canada from $230.00 to $215.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

AVAV has been the topic of several other reports. Alembic Global Advisors raised AeroVironment from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and set a $216.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Baird R W upgraded AeroVironment from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Robert W. Baird upgraded AeroVironment from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $161.00 to $220.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a buy rating and a $255.00 price target on the stock. One equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $210.20.

AeroVironment Trading Down 2.3 %

NASDAQ AVAV opened at $179.47 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $5.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.84 and a beta of 0.50. AeroVironment has a 12 month low of $104.67 and a 12 month high of $224.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 3.56 and a quick ratio of 2.52. The company has a 50-day moving average of $177.97 and a 200-day moving average of $173.11.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $189.48 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $183.18 million. AeroVironment had a net margin of 8.32% and a return on equity of 10.89%. AeroVironment’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.00 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that AeroVironment will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.22, for a total transaction of $77,703.12. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,254 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,581,799.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 9,867 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.23, for a total transaction of $1,669,792.41. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 99,892 shares in the company, valued at $16,904,723.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.22, for a total value of $77,703.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,254 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,581,799.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 11,287 shares of company stock worth $1,928,305. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AeroVironment

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AVAV. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 132.7% in the second quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 1,511,676 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $275,367,000 after buying an additional 861,962 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,094,831 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $474,376,000 after purchasing an additional 179,395 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of AeroVironment by 3,565.5% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 171,288 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $21,589,000 after purchasing an additional 166,615 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in AeroVironment by 187.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 221,749 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $27,949,000 after purchasing an additional 144,628 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Axiom Investors LLC DE increased its holdings in AeroVironment by 756.3% in the fourth quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 102,155 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $12,876,000 after buying an additional 90,225 shares during the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.