An Eagle’s Eye View of AgEagle Aerial Systems!

07 Jun An Eagle’s Eye View of AgEagle Aerial Systems!

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AgEagle Aerial Systems, Inc. (NYSE: UAVS) is a developer of commercial drones, services and solutions for various industries such as agriculture, critical infrastructure and last-mile delivery of goods and services. The Company is focused on three verticals namely Contract Manufacturing, Drone Solutions and Agriculture solutions.

The Company is seeking to gain a stronghold as a premier drone design, manufacturing and testing company in the U.S, while providing comprehensive delivery services and solutions. AgEagle is known as one of the leading solution providers for the agriculture sector with its cutting-edge drones and data analytics solutions for the hemp and commercial crop industry.

In addition to drones, the Company also provides aerial imagery-based data collection and analytics in areas such as crop assessment. AgEagle also offers compliance and enforcement solutions to various departments involved in hemp cultivation. The Company is leveraging its expertise in agricultural technology to offer web- and map-based technologies that enable hemp growers to streamline their cultivation in line with the mandates governing the industry in the U.S. The industry is still in its nascent stage and has stringent regulations requiring permits/ registrations, constant monitoring and enforcement operations to adhere to state and federal mandates.

AgEagle Aerial Systems, Inc. (NYSE: UAVS)

Market Cap: $ 361.33M; Current Share Price: 5.24 USD
Data by YCharts

Industry
The Business for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) or Drones is burgeoning. They are now being extensively used, outside the purview of their original intent and purpose such as capturing aerial photographs or offering an unparalleled entertainment experience. However, the amalgamation of Drones with path breaking Virtual Reality (VR) technology is redefining the game in various fields, with drones now finding applications in areas such as military and defense, agriculture, engineering and construction.

In 2015, the Federal Aviation Administration heralded a new era for drones, by granting exemptions to companies engaged in construction, agriculture, insurance to operate drones in the U.S, while also making it mandatory for online registration of drones. The possibilities of its applications range from aerial inspections of mammoth infrastructural facilities such as dams and nuclear reactors, to use in space and capacity optimization in the construction industry.

Image Source: Unsplash

According to a report by Business Insider Intelligence, the sales of drones will be over $12 billion in 2021 growing at a CAGR of 7.6% from $8.5 billion in 2016. The growth will be majorly fueled by three segments namely consumer drone shipments, enterprise drones/ commercial drones and government drones.

An increasing number of farmers, agronomists, crop researchers and agriculturists are adopting Drones to do conventionally rigorous or mundane tasks such as scouting crops, field mapping, precision agriculture or collecting data. Companies are manufacturing drones to suit the specific needs of this segment, be it monitoring small fields to acres of crop or navigating rugged terrains, cold and wet areas. Factors such as range, flight time, payload capacity, form factor and speed play a very important role in selecting the right drone for the job in hand. Drones can play a crucial role in identifying problems related to irrigation, pest attacks and soil variation, thereby helping mitigate crop damage and improve productivity.

According to a report by Markets and Markets, the agriculture drones’ market is projected to reach USD 5.7 billion by 2025, growing at a CGAR of 35.9% from USD 1.2 billion in 2020. Technological developments, increasing pressure on global food supply and favorable government support initiatives such as exemption in operations from the FAA for agriculture drones are some of the factors which will drive the growth in the market. However high costs and lack of standardization between various interfaces and technologies used for development of drones may make it difficult to share and interpret data, hampering the growth in the market.

Company
FarmLens, the Company’s agricultural intelligence solutions has processed data from more than 2 million acres over 50 countries and 53 different crop varieties to generate more than 11,000 crop reports. The application captures data from AgEagle’s proprietary fixed wing drones or other types of drones, with the help of a near infrared sensor. Furthermore, the application provides features such as crop health indicators, sustainability analysis, field scouting information, real-time information about weather and satellite imagery and seamless data sharing through mobile and other messaging platforms to name a few.

Image Source: Company

The HempOverview platform is an amalgamation of a web-based data collection and management application with map-based aerial imaging technology. The application not only helps people involved in the production of hemp but also enables them to comply with administrative requirements such as web-based registration, permitting and instant online payment processing, centralized reporting, monitoring and reviewing field operations to name a few. The application even allows regulators to get in touch with individual growers through text or email, schedule inspections and CBD/THC testing, monitoring of deviations from the declared field plan provided in registration or non-compliance with planting and harvesting timelines.

The Company is extending its operations to cater to the needs of the challenges being posed by COVID-19 through its expertise in unmanned aerial systems for various industries such as Package delivery, public safety, telecommunications, and critical infrastructure inspection.

Key Takeaways

The use of drone technology has received an impetus by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic with the use of drones being adopted by business services and civil applications, marking a shift from primarily being used in military or hobby applications. Drones can revolutionize operations in a wide array of industries such as construction, agriculture, oil, gas and mining among others.

In January 2021, the Company acquired MicaSense, from Parrot, a European Drone company in exchange for $23 million in cash and stock. MicraSense has multiple strategic partnerships with companies such as DraganFly™, senseFly™, Quantum-Systems and Wingtra to name a few. The Company seeks to leverage MicaSense’s patented thermal and multispectral sensors in its agriculture drones as well as for advanced inspection in the insurance, energy and package delivery sectors. MicaSense is one of the leading developers of multispectral and thermal sensors that are sold in more than 70 countries across the globe and are integrated with over 150 different drones making it the perfect acquisition to complement its foray into new verticals and geographies.

AgEagle also acquired Measure Global Inc, an aerial intelligence solutions company, in exchange for $45 million. Measure Global brings to the table its cutting-edge Ground Control SaaS solution and an impressive customer base which includes Marathon Pipeline, CNN, CoStar Group, LAPD, Nationwide Insurance, SECO Energy, Skanska and Syngenta among other Fortune 500 companies.

In January 2021, the Company licensed its HempOverViewplatform to the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship for managing online registrations, payment processing and data collection and compliance for the 2021, 2022 and 2023 planting seasons.

AgEagle recently announced Brandon Torres Declet as its new Chief Executive Officer to replace J. Michael Drozd. The new CEO has deep knowledge and expertise in the drone industry and was the founder of Measure and served as its CEO since 2014. He was appointed to the Federal Aviation Administration’s Drone Advisory Committee by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation.

Disclosure: I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.

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References

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/agriculture-drones-market-23709764.html

https://ageagle.com/drone-solutions/

https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/01/27/2164956/0/en/AgEagle-Aerial-Systems-Announces-Acquisition-of-MicaSense-for-23-Million.html

https://ageagle.com/ageagle-announces-acquisition-of-measure-in-the-next-step-to-become-the-company-of-choice-for-end-to-end-drone-solutions/

https://ageagle.com/ageagle-aerial-systems-reports-first-quarter-2021-results/

https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/05/24/2235005/0/en/AgEagle-Aerial-Systems-Appoints-Drone-Industry-Leader-Brandon-Torres-Declet-as-New-Chief-Executive-Officer.html

https://www.businessinsider.com/commercial-uav-market-analysis-2017-8?IR=T