AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $240.00 price objective on the aerospace company’s stock.

AVAV has been the topic of a number of other reports. Robert W. Baird upgraded AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $161.00 to $220.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Baird R W raised shares of AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Alembic Global Advisors raised shares of AeroVironment from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $216.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AeroVironment currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $213.50.

AeroVironment Stock Down 7.3 %

NASDAQ:AVAV opened at $218.03 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 4.26 and a quick ratio of 3.04. AeroVironment has a 1-year low of $116.51 and a 1-year high of $236.60. The company has a 50-day moving average of $204.85 and a 200 day moving average of $192.44. The firm has a market cap of $6.15 billion, a PE ratio of 102.36 and a beta of 0.49.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $189.48 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $183.18 million. AeroVironment had a net margin of 7.82% and a return on equity of 9.87%. The company’s revenue was up 24.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AeroVironment will post 3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AeroVironment

In other news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.65, for a total value of $110,058.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,868 shares in the company, valued at $3,654,452.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 1,782 shares of company stock valued at $372,615 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Security National Bank purchased a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in AeroVironment during the second quarter worth about $36,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its position in AeroVironment by 51.0% during the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 394 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI lifted its holdings in AeroVironment by 23.1% in the third quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 400 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. boosted its position in AeroVironment by 47.4% in the 3rd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 432 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 139 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.