Jefferies Financial Group Issues Positive Forecast for AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Stock Price

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) had its target price lifted by Jefferies Financial Group from $275.00 to $285.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

AVAV has been the subject of several other reports. BTIG Research increased their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $225.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Raymond James Financial set a $225.00 price objective on shares of AeroVironment and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Wedbush upgraded AeroVironment to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on AeroVironment from $146.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $245.88.

AeroVironment Price Performance

Shares of AVAV opened at $246.25 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $184.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $162.34. The company has a quick ratio of 2.69, a current ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. AeroVironment has a twelve month low of $102.25 and a twelve month high of $295.90. The company has a market cap of $6.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 158.87 and a beta of 0.96.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 24th. The aerospace company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.20. AeroVironment had a return on equity of 10.68% and a net margin of 5.32%. The firm had revenue of $275.05 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $242.69 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.43 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 39.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that AeroVironment will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of AeroVironment

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the fourth quarter worth about $93,759,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in AeroVironment by 281.6% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 430,307 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $51,288,000 after purchasing an additional 317,530 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in AeroVironment in the 4th quarter worth about $46,789,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in AeroVironment during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,502,000. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC grew its holdings in AeroVironment by 41.0% in the first quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 763,489 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $91,000,000 after purchasing an additional 221,948 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.