AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Now Covered by Piper Sandler

Stock analysts at Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm set an “overweight” rating and a $391.00 price target on the aerospace company’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 39.43% from the company’s previous close.

AVAV has been the subject of several other research reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on AeroVironment in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price objective for the company. JMP Securities increased their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $325.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $300.00 to $348.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $295.00 to $389.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $358.19.

AeroVironment Price Performance

NASDAQ:AVAV opened at $280.43 on Thursday. AeroVironment has a 52-week low of $102.25 and a 52-week high of $417.86. The company has a market cap of $14.00 billion, a P/E ratio of -438.17, a P/E/G ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 5.12 and a current ratio of 5.96. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $336.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $262.52.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AeroVironment news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 998 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $399.74, for a total value of $398,940.52. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 19,324 shares in the company, valued at $7,724,575.76. The trade was a 4.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Trace E. Stevenson sold 1,717 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $381.00, for a total transaction of $654,177.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 4,907 shares in the company, valued at $1,869,567. The trade was a 25.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,228 shares of company stock valued at $1,223,157. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AeroVironment

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the first quarter worth approximately $208,000. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its holdings in AeroVironment by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,199 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in AeroVironment by 128.7% during the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,313 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $156,000 after purchasing an additional 739 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in AeroVironment in the 1st quarter valued at $438,000. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. grew its holdings in AeroVironment by 26.7% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 155,851 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $18,576,000 after buying an additional 32,875 shares in the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.