AeroVironment Stock Price Double, But Stifel Recommend Buy

AeroVironment

AeroVironment Inc (NASDAQ:AVAV), a supplier of unmanned aircraft systems, tactical missile systems, and other related services to government agencies, continues impressing investors and analysts amid its strong performances. AVAV share price rose 100% in the last twelve months to $54 a share at present – with the market cap of $1.3 billion.

AVAV stock has the 52-week trading range of $27 to $58, and its average trading volume stands around 1.6 million shares. Its stock trades around 39 times to earnings and 3.32 times to book ratio, higher from the industry average of 21 and 3.03 times, respectively.

AeroVironment

Source Image: finviz.com

The company generated revenue growth of 20% in the third quarter of fiscal 2017, representing an increase of 20% from last year period. The double-digit growth in revenue was supported by the growth in revenue from Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) segment of $11.5 million.

Also, AeroVironment has also impressed investors with its fully funded order backlog of $123.5 million. The company has recently secured a $54 million contract from the international customer, which is the largest contract in its history.

>>Essendent Inc to Merge with Genuine Parts Co. – Shares Jump

Commenting on third-quarter results, its CEO highlighted strong confidence in future fundamentals. He said, “The AeroVironment team continued to execute our fiscal 2018 plan effectively, increasing third-quarter revenue by 20 percent year-over-year and generating a funded backlog of $123.5 million, which gives us full visibility to the midpoint of our annual revenue guidance range of $290 million.”

Stifel Upgrades AVAV Stock to Buy

Stifel has upgraded the Drone maker AVAV stock to “Buy” from “Hold” with the target price of $65 from the previous target of $45 a share, signifying significant upside from its current price $54 a share. Stifel sees the potential growth opportunities for AeroVironment, amid increasing defense budget from the U.S. and heightened demand from international markets. Besides from Stifel, the other Wall Street analysts recommend “Hold” due to elevated valuations compared to the industry average.

Featured Image: Twitter