AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Sees Large Volume Increase – Still a Buy?

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) saw strong trading volume on Tuesday . 163,505 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 51% from the previous session’s volume of 335,428 shares.The stock last traded at $192.86 and had previously closed at $197.07.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Raymond James lowered shares of AeroVironment from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Robert W. Baird raised AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $161.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors raised 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AeroVironment currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $213.50.

AeroVironment Stock Down 2.6 %

The business has a fifty day moving average of $206.47 and a 200 day moving average of $193.64. The company has a market capitalization of $5.42 billion, a PE ratio of 92.52 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 4.26, a quick ratio of 3.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.28. AeroVironment had a return on equity of 9.87% and a net margin of 7.82%. 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 firm posted $1.00 EPS. AeroVironment’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 508 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $3,654,452.20. The trade was a 2.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold 1,782 shares of company stock worth $372,615 in the last quarter. 1.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AeroVironment

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in AeroVironment by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,094,831 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $474,376,000 after purchasing an additional 179,395 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its position in shares of AeroVironment by 29.1% during the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 1,951,393 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $391,254,000 after purchasing an additional 439,717 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,582,871 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $317,366,000 after purchasing an additional 7,471 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 0.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 634,189 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $127,180,000 after purchasing an additional 4,948 shares during the period. Finally, Heard Capital LLC increased its holdings in AeroVironment by 25.5% in the third quarter. Heard Capital LLC now owns 592,136 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $118,723,000 after buying an additional 120,447 shares in 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.