AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Stock Rating Lowered by Raymond James

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) was downgraded by analysts at Raymond James from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report issued on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on AVAV. Baird R W upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Robert W. Baird upgraded AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $161.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on AeroVironment in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $255.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on AeroVironment from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors raised shares of AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $216.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.20.

AeroVironment Trading Down 8.6 %

AeroVironment stock traded down $16.46 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $175.65. The stock had a trading volume of 545,793 shares, compared to its average volume of 339,227. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $179.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $175.57. AeroVironment has a twelve month low of $104.67 and a twelve month high of $224.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 3.04 and a current ratio of 4.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.94 billion, a PE ratio of 79.12 and a beta of 0.50.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $189.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $183.18 million. AeroVironment had a return on equity of 9.87% and a net margin of 7.82%. The company’s revenue was up 24.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.00 EPS. Analysts expect that AeroVironment will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at AeroVironment

In other news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 511 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.45, for a total transaction of $91,187.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 21,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,807,052.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 9,867 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.23, for a total value of $1,669,792.41. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 99,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,904,723.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 511 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.45, for a total value of $91,187.95. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 21,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,807,052.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,287 shares of company stock valued at $1,928,305. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AeroVironment

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in AeroVironment in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in AeroVironment in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. acquired a new stake in AeroVironment in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new stake in AeroVironment during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AeroVironment during the 1st quarter worth $61,000. 86.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.