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

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) shares traded 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 changed 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 Analysts Forecast Growth

AVAV has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on AeroVironment from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Robert W. Baird raised 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 research report on Wednesday, August 28th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Baird R W upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $240.00 to $230.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $211.83.

AeroVironment Trading Down 2.9 %

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 has a market capitalization of $5.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 89.61 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $208.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $194.27.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $189.48 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $183.18 million. AeroVironment had a return on equity of 9.87% and a net margin of 7.82%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AeroVironment news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 878 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.54, for a total transaction of $184,854.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,376 shares in the company, valued at $3,658,343.04. This trade represents a 4.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 1,782 shares of company stock worth $372,615 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.27% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AeroVironment

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Radnor Capital Management LLC raised its stake in AeroVironment by 1.0% during the third quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC now owns 5,965 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,196,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 4,609 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $840,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI grew its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 23.1% in the 3rd quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 400 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its position in shares of AeroVironment by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 1,434 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in AeroVironment by 51.0% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 394 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.