AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday after Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on the stock from $220.00 to $146.00. The stock had previously closed at $141.90, but opened at $110.07. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the stock. AeroVironment shares last traded at $133.70, with a volume of 898,069 shares trading hands.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $240.00 to $230.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $210.40.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AeroVironment

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVAV. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 299.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,821 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,037,000 after buying an additional 3,614 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 333,193 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $51,275,000 after purchasing an additional 32,663 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in AeroVironment by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 136,652 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $21,029,000 after buying an additional 4,107 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the 4th quarter valued at $333,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 22.7% during the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,893 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $599,000 after acquiring an additional 721 shares during the period. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $3.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.48 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 4.61 and a quick ratio of 3.36. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $164.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $184.37.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.47 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 company had revenue of $188.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $181.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.97 EPS. AeroVironment’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

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.