AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Given “Outperform” Rating at William Blair

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at William Blair in a research note issued on Wednesday,RTT News reports.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on AVAV. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $240.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $220.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.40.

AeroVironment Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AVAV traded down $7.29 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $134.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,047,201 shares, compared to its average volume of 403,770. AeroVironment has a 1-year low of $108.40 and a 1-year high of $236.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.37 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a current ratio of 4.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $164.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $184.37.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.29). The company had revenue of $188.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $181.80 million. AeroVironment had a return on equity of 8.12% and a net margin of 6.39%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.97 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AeroVironment will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AeroVironment

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,872,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in AeroVironment by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,601 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. AWM Investment Company Inc. raised its holdings in AeroVironment by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. AWM Investment Company Inc. now owns 121,633 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $18,718,000 after purchasing an additional 16,199 shares in the last quarter. Washington Harbour Partners LP lifted its position in shares of AeroVironment by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Washington Harbour Partners LP now owns 22,044 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,392,000 after buying an additional 844 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 31.6% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 19,022 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,927,000 after buying an additional 4,573 shares in 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.