AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Downgraded to Strong Sell Rating by Zacks Research

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. New Street Research set a $365.00 price target on AeroVironment in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. BTIG Research increased their price objective on AeroVironment from $300.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $267.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on AeroVironment from $300.00 to $348.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on AeroVironment from $320.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AeroVironment currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $356.07.

AeroVironment Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ AVAV opened at $328.09 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $16.38 billion, a P/E ratio of -512.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 5.96 and a quick ratio of 5.12. AeroVironment has a 1 year low of $102.25 and a 1 year high of $417.86. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $329.25 and a 200 day moving average of $257.42.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 28th. The aerospace company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter. AeroVironment had a negative net margin of 4.14% and a positive return on equity of 4.67%. The business had revenue of $132.62 million during the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AeroVironment will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AeroVironment

In other AeroVironment news, insider Trace E. Stevenson sold 1,717 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $381.00, for a total transaction of $654,177.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 4,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,869,567. This trade represents a 25.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 998 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $399.74, for a total value of $398,940.52. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 19,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,724,575.76. This represents a 4.91% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.81% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AeroVironment

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVAV. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 1.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,530,073 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,111,585,000 after buying an additional 51,959 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its holdings in AeroVironment by 48.2% in the 1st quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 902,814 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $107,606,000 after acquiring an additional 293,553 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in AeroVironment by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 678,431 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $193,342,000 after purchasing an additional 6,475 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 75.6% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 609,019 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $173,540,000 after purchasing an additional 262,239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 16.4% during the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 531,122 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $151,309,000 after purchasing an additional 74,636 shares during the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.