AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Trading Down 1.6% – Time to Sell?

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)’s stock price fell 1.6% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $193.68 and last traded at $195.91. 1,015,650 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 47% from the average session volume of 1,923,392 shares. The stock had previously closed at $199.02.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on AeroVironment from $389.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $325.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of AeroVironment from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $486.00 to $429.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $390.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $318.78.

AeroVironment Stock Down 1.6%

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $259.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $290.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 4.54 and a current ratio of 5.51. The company has a market cap of $9.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -45.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.26.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 10th. The aerospace company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $408.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $487.94 million. AeroVironment had a positive return on equity of 3.26% and a negative net margin of 13.93%.AeroVironment’s revenue was up 143.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.30 earnings per share. AeroVironment has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.750-3.100 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Brian Charles Shackley sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.52, for a total transaction of $42,504.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 5,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,340.88. This trade represents a 3.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen F. Page sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.62, for a total transaction of $377,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 51,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,258,997.62. This represents a 1.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,924 shares of company stock worth $1,486,038. Insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AeroVironment

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the first quarter worth $225,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. acquired a new position in AeroVironment during the 2nd quarter worth $285,000. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in AeroVironment by 121.3% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,653 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,896,000 after acquiring an additional 3,647 shares during the period. DNB Asset Management AS acquired a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the second quarter valued at about $779,000. Finally, MAI Capital Management increased its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 143.8% in the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 195 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AeroVironment Company Profile

AeroVironment, Inc (NASDAQ:AVAV) is a technology company specializing in unmanned aerial systems (UAS), tactical missiles and precision loitering munitions, electric vehicle charging and scalable energy systems. Headquartered in Monrovia, California, the company develops solutions for defense, public safety and commercial markets. Their offerings include small UAS for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, as well as advanced weapons systems designed to meet the needs of modern military operations.

The company’s unmanned aerial systems portfolio features platforms such as the Raven, Puma and Switchblade series, which are deployed by the U.S.