AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Cut to Market Perform at Raymond James

Raymond James downgraded shares of AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research note published on Monday, MarketBeat reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Alembic Global Advisors raised shares of AeroVironment from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and set a $216.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of AeroVironment from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $161.00 to $220.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. BTIG Research started coverage on AeroVironment in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a buy rating and a $255.00 price target on the stock. Baird R W raised AeroVironment from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on AeroVironment from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $208.20.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

Shares of AeroVironment stock opened at $179.69 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 4.26, a quick ratio of 3.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $179.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $176.21. The firm has a market cap of $5.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.67 and a beta of 0.50. AeroVironment has a 12 month low of $104.67 and a 12 month high of $224.00.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $189.48 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $183.18 million. AeroVironment had a net margin of 7.82% and a return on equity of 9.87%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 24.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.00 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that AeroVironment will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AeroVironment

In other AeroVironment news, 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 transaction of $77,703.12. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,254 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,581,799.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 9,867 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.23, for a total transaction of $1,669,792.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 99,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,904,723.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.22, for a total transaction of $77,703.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,254 shares in the company, valued at $3,581,799.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,287 shares of company stock valued at $1,928,305 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AeroVironment

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in AeroVironment during the first quarter worth $26,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the second quarter worth about $36,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of AeroVironment by 50.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 401 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.38% 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.