Brokerages Set AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) Target Price at $202.40

Shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the eight ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $202.00.

Several analysts recently issued reports on AVAV shares. Raymond James upgraded AeroVironment from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on AeroVironment from $230.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on AeroVironment from $220.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

Shares of AeroVironment stock opened at $137.72 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.15 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $141.74 and its 200-day moving average is $172.45. AeroVironment has a one year low of $102.25 and a one year high of $236.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 4.61 and a quick ratio of 3.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at AeroVironment

In related news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 29,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.20, for a total value of $3,764,721.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 115,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,765,306.80. This represents a 20.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AeroVironment

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AVAV. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the fourth quarter worth $93,759,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the fourth quarter worth $46,789,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the fourth quarter worth $37,502,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 155.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 321,479 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $64,457,000 after purchasing an additional 195,443 shares during the period. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 2,135,280 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $328,598,000 after purchasing an additional 183,887 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

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.