Raymond James Upgrades AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) to “Strong-Buy”

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) was upgraded by research analysts at Raymond James from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage currently has a $200.00 target price on the aerospace company’s stock. Raymond James’ price objective indicates a potential upside of 70.54% from the stock’s current price.

AVAV has been the topic of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on AeroVironment from $230.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $220.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.00.

AeroVironment Price Performance

AVAV traded up $3.90 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $117.28. 244,545 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 401,063. The company has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.58 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $145.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $173.96. The company has a current ratio of 4.61, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. AeroVironment has a 52-week low of $102.25 and a 52-week high of $236.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AeroVironment news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 29,366 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.20, for a total value of $3,764,721.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 115,174 shares in the company, valued at $14,765,306.80. The trade was a 20.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AeroVironment

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AVAV. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its position in AeroVironment by 890.7% in the first quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 426 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 17,752.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 80,692 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $9,618,000 after acquiring an additional 80,240 shares during the last quarter. M & L Capital Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the 1st quarter worth approximately $167,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in shares of AeroVironment by 171.1% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 244 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Finally, Fire Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in AeroVironment in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $208,000. 86.38% of the stock is currently 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.