AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Shares Gap Up to $177.76

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $177.76, but opened at $199.40. AeroVironment shares last traded at $206.30, with a volume of 387,811 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVAV has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Thursday, June 27th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on AeroVironment in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $255.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird raised AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $161.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $207.20.

AeroVironment Stock Up 11.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 3.56 and a quick ratio of 2.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 93.30 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $177.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $169.54.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The aerospace company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.21. AeroVironment had a net margin of 8.32% and a return on equity of 10.89%. The company had revenue of $197.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $188.48 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.99 earnings per share. AeroVironment’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at AeroVironment

In other news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 511 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 21,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,807,052.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other AeroVironment news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 9,867 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 99,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,904,723.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 511 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.45, for a total transaction of $91,187.95. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 21,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,807,052.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,891 shares of company stock valued at $1,850,601 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AeroVironment

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the 2nd quarter valued at about $315,000. Creative Planning increased its stake in AeroVironment by 203.1% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 4,077 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $743,000 after buying an additional 2,732 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in AeroVironment during the second quarter valued at about $516,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in AeroVironment by 120.6% during the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 136,603 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $24,884,000 after buying an additional 74,672 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of AeroVironment by 3.1% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 15,758 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,870,000 after buying an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. 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.