Analysts Set AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) Target Price at $139.20

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $139.20.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Raymond James raised their price target on AeroVironment from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 7th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $161.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Friday, March 8th.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

NASDAQ AVAV opened at $153.28 on Friday. AeroVironment has a fifty-two week low of $88.24 and a fifty-two week high of $184.61. The stock has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -35.56 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a fifty day moving average of $136.10 and a 200-day moving average of $126.13. The company has a quick ratio of 3.16, a current ratio of 4.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.30. AeroVironment had a positive return on equity of 13.93% and a negative net margin of 15.14%. The firm had revenue of $186.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.62 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.33 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 38.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that AeroVironment will post 2.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Melissa Ann Brown sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.77, for a total transaction of $176,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,181,165.03. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Melissa Ann Brown sold 1,000 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.77, for a total value of $176,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,181,165.03. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Trace E. Stevenson sold 1,913 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.00, for a total transaction of $350,079.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $470,310. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AeroVironment

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bfsg LLC bought a new stake in AeroVironment during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in AeroVironment during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in AeroVironment by 47.7% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 390 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.