AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Reaches New 52-Week High at $129.00

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $129.00 and last traded at $127.17, with a volume of 19818 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $125.90.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AVAV. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $95.00 to $128.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 6th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on AeroVironment in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Raymond James cut AeroVironment from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $130.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Monday, October 9th. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded AeroVironment from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, September 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AeroVironment has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $119.67.

AeroVironment Stock Up 1.2 %

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $113.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $103.30. The company has a current ratio of 4.49, a quick ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a PE ratio of -21.82 and a beta of 0.45.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, September 5th. The aerospace company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.74. AeroVironment had a positive return on equity of 10.16% and a negative net margin of 24.97%. The business had revenue of $152.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $128.50 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.10) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 2.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Brian Charles Shackley sold 475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.77, for a total transaction of $53,565.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $363,344.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AeroVironment

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of AeroVironment by 19.5% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 581 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in AeroVironment by 47.7% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 390 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in AeroVironment by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,893 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Connors Investor Services Inc. grew its position in AeroVironment by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Connors Investor Services Inc. now owns 30,312 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,100,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its position in AeroVironment by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 4,908 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $502,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% 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.