AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the eight analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $202.40.

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

Insider Transactions at AeroVironment

In other news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 29,366 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.20, for a total transaction of $3,764,721.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 115,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,765,306.80. The trade was a 20.32 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.27% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AeroVironment

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 120.2% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 185 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AeroVironment in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in AeroVironment during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Colonial Trust Advisors purchased a new position in AeroVironment during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AeroVironment Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AVAV opened at $113.38 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $145.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.96. AeroVironment has a 1-year low of $102.25 and a 1-year high of $236.60. 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 company has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a PE ratio of 65.16 and a beta of 0.74.

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.