AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

AVAV has been the subject of a number of other reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on AeroVironment from $295.00 to $389.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on AeroVironment from $267.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, JMP Securities upped their price target on AeroVironment from $325.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $358.19.

AeroVironment Stock Up 3.1%

NASDAQ AVAV traded up $8.73 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $289.16. 146,844 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 896,918. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 5.12 and a current ratio of 5.96. The company has a market capitalization of $14.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -451.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s 50-day moving average is $336.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $262.52. AeroVironment has a one year low of $102.25 and a one year high of $417.86.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 28th. The aerospace company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter. The company 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, analysts forecast that AeroVironment will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AeroVironment

In other news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 513 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.46, for a total transaction of $170,038.98. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,811 shares in the company, valued at $6,235,094.06. The trade was a 2.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Trace E. Stevenson sold 1,717 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $381.00, for a total transaction of $654,177.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 4,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,869,567. This trade represents a 25.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 3,228 shares of company stock worth $1,223,157 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AeroVironment

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 13.5% during the 2nd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 8,068 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,299,000 after acquiring an additional 961 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. bought a new stake in AeroVironment during the second quarter worth $273,000. Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the 2nd quarter valued at $697,000. Freemont Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 29.8% in the 2nd quarter. Freemont Management S.A. now owns 10,900 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,106,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Semanteon Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the 2nd quarter valued at $874,000. 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.