AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Research Coverage Started at The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) in a research note released on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $301.00 price objective on the aerospace company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on AVAV. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Sunday. William Blair initiated coverage on AeroVironment in a report on Sunday. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Wedbush upgraded AeroVironment to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on AeroVironment from $230.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their price objective on AeroVironment from $225.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AeroVironment has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $245.88.

AeroVironment Trading Down 2.4%

AVAV opened at $246.25 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.95 billion, a PE ratio of 158.87 and a beta of 0.96. AeroVironment has a one year low of $102.25 and a one year high of $295.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a current ratio of 3.52. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $184.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $162.34.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 24th. The aerospace company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.20. AeroVironment had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 10.68%. The firm had revenue of $275.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $242.69 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.43 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 39.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AeroVironment will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AeroVironment

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AVAV. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 25.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 270,496 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $41,627,000 after buying an additional 55,142 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co. raised its stake in AeroVironment by 132.9% during the 4th quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 6,097 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $938,000 after acquiring an additional 3,479 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in AeroVironment by 63.0% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 217,806 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $33,518,000 after acquiring an additional 84,170 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 245.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 529 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,093 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. 86.38% of the stock is 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.