AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Stock Price Up 5.3% – Still a Buy?

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)’s share price was up 5.3% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $182.60 and last traded at $181.16. Approximately 199,775 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 39% from the average daily volume of 324,999 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.98.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AVAV. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $240.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $225.20.

AeroVironment Stock Up 4.9 %

The stock has a market cap of $5.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 103.61 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 3.36, a current ratio of 4.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $169.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $185.82.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.29). AeroVironment had a net margin of 6.39% and a return on equity of 8.12%. The business had revenue of $188.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $181.80 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. AeroVironment’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AeroVironment

In other news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.73, for a total transaction of $78,697.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,472 shares in the company, valued at $3,273,480.56. This represents a 2.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AeroVironment

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its position in AeroVironment by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 2,135,280 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $328,598,000 after purchasing an additional 183,887 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in AeroVironment by 0.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,582,871 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $317,366,000 after acquiring an additional 7,471 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in AeroVironment by 0.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 634,189 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $127,180,000 after purchasing an additional 4,948 shares during the last quarter. Heard Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 25.5% during the 3rd quarter. Heard Capital LLC now owns 592,136 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $118,723,000 after purchasing an additional 120,447 shares during the period. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 40.0% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 541,541 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $83,338,000 after purchasing an additional 154,703 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.