AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) Receives $202.40 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the eight analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $202.40.

AVAV has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $230.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on AeroVironment from $220.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Wednesday, March 5th.

AeroVironment Price Performance

Shares of AVAV stock opened at $111.65 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $146.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $174.43. The company has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a PE ratio of 64.17 and a beta of 0.74. AeroVironment has a twelve month low of $110.07 and a twelve month high of $236.60. The company has a current ratio of 4.61, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AeroVironment news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 29,366 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.20, for a total value of $3,764,721.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 115,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,765,306.80. This trade represents a 20.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AeroVironment

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in AeroVironment by 171.1% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 244 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Fire Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in AeroVironment in the 4th quarter valued at about $208,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in AeroVironment during the fourth quarter worth approximately $251,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in AeroVironment in the 4th quarter worth about $4,872,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in AeroVironment by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,601 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

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.