Brokerages Set AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) Target Price at $356.07

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) has been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the twenty brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, sixteen have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $356.0714.

AVAV has been the subject of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Sunday, June 29th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $300.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Wedbush raised shares of AeroVironment to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Trace E. Stevenson sold 1,717 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction on Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $381.00, for a total value of $654,177.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 4,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,869,567. The trade was a 25.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 998 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $399.74, for a total transaction of $398,940.52. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 19,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,724,575.76. The trade was a 4.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AeroVironment

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AVAV. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in AeroVironment by 14.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,478,114 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $991,089,000 after acquiring an additional 433,830 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of AeroVironment by 281.6% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 430,307 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $51,288,000 after purchasing an additional 317,530 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its position in shares of AeroVironment by 48.2% during the 1st quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 902,814 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $107,606,000 after purchasing an additional 293,553 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the 2nd quarter valued at about $75,690,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of AeroVironment by 75.6% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 609,019 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $173,540,000 after purchasing an additional 262,239 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

AeroVironment Stock Down 5.8%

Shares of AVAV stock opened at $355.18 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -554.96, a PEG ratio of 6.40 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $296.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $233.85. AeroVironment has a 1 year low of $102.25 and a 1 year high of $417.86. The company has a current ratio of 5.96, a quick ratio of 5.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 28th. The aerospace company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $132.62 million during the quarter. AeroVironment had a negative net margin of 4.14% and a positive return on equity of 4.67%. On average, equities analysts predict that AeroVironment will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.