AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Raymond James

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Raymond James from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm presently has a $200.00 price target on the aerospace company's stock. Raymond James' price objective would suggest a potential upside of 36.68% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on AVAV. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective 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 cut their target price on AeroVironment from $220.00 to $146.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $202.00.

AeroVironment Stock Up 5.3 %

AVAV traded up $7.36 on Tuesday, reaching $146.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 513,277 shares, compared to its average volume of 409,991. The company has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 84.10 and a beta of 0.74. AeroVironment has a fifty-two week low of $102.25 and a fifty-two week high of $236.60. The company has a quick ratio of 3.36, a current ratio of 4.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $140.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $171.69.

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Insider Transactions at AeroVironment

In other AeroVironment 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 transaction of $3,764,721.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 115,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,765,306.80. This represents a 20.32 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.27% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Redwood Investments LLC grew its position in AeroVironment by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Redwood Investments LLC now owns 9,273 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,427,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 8,170 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,257,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 17,618 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,711,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its holdings in AeroVironment by 120.2% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 185 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.