AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Shares Up 7.1% – Should You Buy?

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) traded up 7.1% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $168.00 and last traded at $167.58. 321,249 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 11% from the average session volume of 362,286 shares. The stock had previously closed at $156.50.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Alembic Global Advisors raised AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $216.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $161.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Baird R W raised shares of AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Raymond James lowered AeroVironment from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AeroVironment presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.20.

AeroVironment Stock Up 9.0 %

The company has a fifty day moving average of $202.57 and a 200 day moving average of $192.39. 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 cap of $4.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 96.06 and a beta of 0.45.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.29). AeroVironment had a return on equity of 8.12% and a net margin of 6.39%. The firm had revenue of $188.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $181.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 508 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.65, for a total value of $110,058.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,654,452.20. This represents a 2.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,782 shares of company stock worth $373,609. 1.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AeroVironment

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Security National Bank bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in AeroVironment during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in AeroVironment during the 3rd quarter valued at about $62,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 51.0% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 394 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI lifted its position in shares of AeroVironment by 23.1% in the 3rd quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 400 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.