AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Trading Down 3.4% – Should You Sell?

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) was down 3.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $125.04 and last traded at $125.04. Approximately 137,433 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 389,578 shares. The stock had previously closed at $129.45.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AVAV shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $220.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.40.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 4.61 and a quick ratio of 3.36. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $158.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $180.03. The stock has a market cap of $3.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.72 and a beta of 0.42.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVAV. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,098,822 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $476,878,000 after buying an additional 35,543 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 2,135,280 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $328,598,000 after acquiring an additional 183,887 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,582,871 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $317,366,000 after acquiring an additional 7,471 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 654,024 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $100,670,000 after acquiring an additional 19,835 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the 4th quarter valued at about $93,759,000. Institutional investors 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.