AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Price Target Cut to $215.00 by Analysts at Royal Bank of Canada

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) had its price objective reduced by Royal Bank of Canada from $230.00 to $215.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on AVAV. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a buy rating and a $255.00 target price on the stock. Alembic Global Advisors raised AeroVironment from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and set a $216.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of AeroVironment from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and raised their target price for the stock from $161.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded AeroVironment from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AeroVironment has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $210.20.

AeroVironment Stock Down 5.3 %

AVAV opened at $183.73 on Thursday. AeroVironment has a fifty-two week low of $104.67 and a fifty-two week high of $224.00. The company’s 50-day moving average is $178.02 and its 200 day moving average is $172.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.76 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 3.56 and a quick ratio of 2.52.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last announced 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $183.18 million. AeroVironment had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 8.32%. AeroVironment’s revenue was up 24.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that AeroVironment will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.22, for a total value of $77,703.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,254 shares in the company, valued at $3,581,799.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other AeroVironment news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 9,867 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $16,904,723.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.22, for a total transaction of $77,703.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,581,799.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,287 shares of company stock valued at $1,928,305 over the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AeroVironment

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. acquired a new position in AeroVironment during the first quarter worth $38,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new position in AeroVironment during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI lifted its holdings in AeroVironment by 44.1% in the fourth quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 327 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.