William Blair Reaffirms Outperform Rating for AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV)

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by research analysts at William Blair in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,RTT News reports.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Raymond James lowered AeroVironment from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Royal Bank of Canada cut 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. Baird R W raised AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Robert W. Baird raised AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $161.00 to $220.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised 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 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AeroVironment presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $211.83.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

Shares of AeroVironment stock opened at $196.89 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $208.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $194.35. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $5.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.44 and a beta of 0.45. AeroVironment has a 12 month low of $116.51 and a 12 month high of $236.60.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.29). The business had revenue of $188.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $181.80 million. AeroVironment had a return on equity of 9.87% and a net margin of 7.82%. AeroVironment’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that AeroVironment will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 508 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,654,452.20. This trade represents a 2.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold 1,782 shares of company stock valued at $373,609 in the last three months. 1.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AeroVironment

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 299.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,821 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,037,000 after acquiring an additional 3,614 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 39.6% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 7,451 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,494,000 after acquiring an additional 2,115 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in AeroVironment by 0.8% in the 3rd 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. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of AeroVironment by 149.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 57,245 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $11,477,000 after acquiring an additional 34,318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 85.0% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 4,395 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $881,000 after buying an additional 2,019 shares during the period. 86.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.