AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Trading Up 1.6% – Should You Buy?

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)’s share price rose 1.6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $282.03 and last traded at $276.99. Approximately 682,919 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 24% from the average daily volume of 898,773 shares. The stock had previously closed at $272.54.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on AVAV. JMP Securities lifted their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $325.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Zacks Research lowered AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on AeroVironment from $295.00 to $389.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $358.19.

AeroVironment Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $13.83 billion, a PE ratio of -432.79, a PEG ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 1.09. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $337.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $265.60. The company has a quick ratio of 5.12, a current ratio of 5.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 28th. The aerospace company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $132.62 million for the quarter. AeroVironment had a positive return on equity of 4.67% and a negative net margin of 4.14%. On average, research analysts expect that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AeroVironment

In related news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 998 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $399.74, for a total transaction of $398,940.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 19,324 shares in the company, valued at $7,724,575.76. This represents a 4.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Trace E. Stevenson sold 1,717 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,869,567. This trade represents a 25.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 3,228 shares of company stock worth $1,223,157 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AeroVironment

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in AeroVironment by 60.0% in the third quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 80 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its position in shares of AeroVironment by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 498 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $157,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 80 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 21.5% in the 2nd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 237 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Amalgamated Bank boosted its position in shares of AeroVironment by 0.6% during the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 8,023 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,286,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. 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.