AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Stock Price Up 4.5% – What’s Next?

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)’s stock price shot up 4.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $202.53 and last traded at $201.84. 71,260 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 340,084 shares. The stock had previously closed at $193.11.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on AVAV shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $240.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $161.00 to $220.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on AeroVironment from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors raised AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $216.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.83.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 4.26 and a quick ratio of 3.04. The business has a 50-day moving average of $207.68 and a 200-day moving average of $194.20. The company has a market capitalization of $5.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 90.66 and a beta of 0.49.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.28. AeroVironment had a net margin of 7.82% and a return on equity of 9.87%. The firm had revenue of $189.48 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $183.18 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AeroVironment

In related news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 508 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.65, for a total value of $110,058.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,654,452.20. This represents a 2.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,782 shares of company stock worth $372,615. 1.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AeroVironment

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Comerica Bank grew its holdings in AeroVironment by 53.9% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 18,991 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,911,000 after purchasing an additional 6,648 shares during the last quarter. American International Group Inc. raised its stake in AeroVironment by 3.1% in the first quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 14,617 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,240,000 after buying an additional 444 shares during the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in AeroVironment in the first quarter worth about $1,043,000. TD Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the second quarter worth about $565,000. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 120.6% during the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 136,603 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $24,884,000 after acquiring an additional 74,672 shares in 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.