AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Downgraded by Jefferies Financial Group to “Hold”

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) was downgraded by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Finviz reports. They presently have a $240.00 price objective on the aerospace company’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 2.05% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Baird R W upgraded AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $216.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Raymond James downgraded AeroVironment from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $161.00 to $220.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $213.50.

AeroVironment Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AVAV opened at $235.17 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $204.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $192.01. AeroVironment has a 12 month low of $116.51 and a 12 month high of $236.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 110.41 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 4.26 and a quick ratio of 3.04.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $189.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $183.18 million. AeroVironment had a return on equity of 9.87% and a net margin of 7.82%. AeroVironment’s revenue was up 24.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AeroVironment will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 878 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.54, for a total value of $184,854.12. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,658,343.04. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,782 shares of company stock worth $372,615. 1.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AeroVironment

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AVAV. Security National Bank bought a new stake in AeroVironment in the third quarter worth $31,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in AeroVironment during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI grew its holdings in AeroVironment by 23.1% during the third quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 400 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of AeroVironment by 47.4% in the third quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 432 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

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.