AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Shares Gap Down to $192.11

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $192.11, but opened at $187.19. AeroVironment shares last traded at $176.35, with a volume of 66,868 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Baird R W upgraded AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Alembic Global Advisors raised shares of AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $216.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Robert W. Baird raised AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $161.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, BTIG Research assumed coverage on AeroVironment in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $255.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.20.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $179.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $175.57. 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 company has a market cap of $4.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.44 and a beta of 0.50.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.89 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $183.18 million. AeroVironment had a net margin of 7.82% and a return on equity of 9.87%. The firm’s revenue was up 24.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AeroVironment

In related 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 value of $1,669,792.41. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 99,892 shares in the company, valued at $16,904,723.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other AeroVironment news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 9,867 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.23, for a total value of $1,669,792.41. Following 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 511 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.45, for a total value of $91,187.95. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 21,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,807,052.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,287 shares of company stock worth $1,928,305. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AeroVironment

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the 2nd quarter worth $315,000. Creative Planning grew its position in shares of AeroVironment by 203.1% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 4,077 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $743,000 after buying an additional 2,732 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the second quarter valued at about $516,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC raised its position 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 worth $24,884,000 after acquiring an additional 74,672 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 3.1% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 15,758 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,870,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.