AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday after Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on the stock from $220.00 to $146.00. The stock had previously closed at $141.90, but opened at $110.07. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the stock. AeroVironment shares last traded at $133.70, with a volume of 898,069 shares changing hands.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on AVAV. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $240.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AeroVironment has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $210.40.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AeroVironment

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Radnor Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in AeroVironment by 1.0% during the third quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC now owns 5,965 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,196,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Investments LLC raised its holdings in AeroVironment by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Redwood Investments LLC now owns 9,273 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,427,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in AeroVironment by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 8,170 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,257,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in shares of AeroVironment by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,601 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its stake in AeroVironment by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 1,434 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AeroVironment Trading Down 4.8 %

The company has a quick ratio of 3.36, a current ratio of 4.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company has a market capitalization of $3.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.48 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $164.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $184.37.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.29). The business had revenue of $188.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $181.80 million. AeroVironment had a return on equity of 8.12% and a net margin of 6.39%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.