AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Baird R W

Baird R W upgraded shares of AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Wednesday, Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on AVAV. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and set a $216.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a buy rating and a $255.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised shares of AeroVironment from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $161.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $207.20.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

Shares of AVAV opened at $203.76 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.56, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $177.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $170.82. AeroVironment has a 12 month low of $93.94 and a 12 month high of $224.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 91.78 and a beta of 0.51.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The aerospace company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $197.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.48 million. AeroVironment had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 8.32%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that AeroVironment will post 3.41 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 9,867 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $16,904,723.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 9,867 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.23, for a total transaction of $1,669,792.41. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 99,892 shares in the company, valued at $16,904,723.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 513 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.70, for a total value of $89,621.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,258,155. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,891 shares of company stock worth $1,850,601 over the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the second quarter valued at approximately $315,000. Creative Planning grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 2,732 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the 2nd quarter valued at $516,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 120.6% during the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 136,603 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $24,884,000 after purchasing an additional 74,672 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 15,758 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,870,000 after buying an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. 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.