Firefly Aerospace (NASDAQ:FLY) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Firefly Aerospace, Inc. (NASDAQ:FLY)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $49.37, but opened at $46.44. Firefly Aerospace shares last traded at $46.0080, with a volume of 7,996,858 shares changing hands.

More Firefly Aerospace News

Here are the key news stories impacting Firefly Aerospace this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Firefly said NASA tapped the company for a drone mission to the moon’s south pole, and multiple reports highlighted a new $75 million NASA subcontract. That strengthens Firefly’s credibility in the space sector and supports its long-term backlog and revenue outlook. Firefly Aerospace Wins $75M NASA Subcontract
• Positive Sentiment: The NASA award also reinforces Firefly’s position as a key contractor in future lunar exploration programs, which may improve investor confidence in its growth pipeline. NASA taps Firefly Aerospace for drone mission to moon’s south pole
• Neutral Sentiment: News that a rival/peer, Aeon Industrial, plans to add jobs in Cedar Park is more of a regional industry development than a direct driver for Firefly shares. Austin defense startup Aeon Industrial plans 135 jobs in Cedar Park move
• Negative Sentiment: Firefly also announced pricing for a public offering of 4 million new shares plus 8 million shares sold by existing holders at $48 per share. Stock offerings can pressure shares because they increase supply and may dilute existing investors, even when the business is securing growth capital. Firefly Aerospace Announces Pricing of Public Offering of Common Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Media coverage specifically noted that the share sale is weighing on the stock, suggesting investors are balancing the new NASA contract against dilution from the offering. Firefly lands NASA moon mission. A share sale weighs on the stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Firefly Aerospace from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. UBS Group set a $33.00 price target on Firefly Aerospace in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Firefly Aerospace from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. B. Riley Financial assumed coverage on Firefly Aerospace in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on Firefly Aerospace from $65.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.56.

Firefly Aerospace Trading Down 8.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.53 and a current ratio of 2.53. The stock has a market cap of $7.24 billion and a PE ratio of -5.56. The business has a 50-day moving average of $36.80 and a 200 day moving average of $27.73.

Firefly Aerospace (NASDAQ:FLY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The company reported ($0.46) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.50) by $0.04. The company had revenue of $80.88 million during the quarter. Firefly Aerospace had a negative return on equity of 40.96% and a negative net margin of 181.16%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 44.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($5.09) EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Firefly Aerospace, Inc. will post -1.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Firefly Aerospace

In other news, General Counsel David Leigh Wheeler sold 3,766 shares of Firefly Aerospace stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.04, for a total value of $169,620.64. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 142,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,429,820.32. The trade was a 2.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 7.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Firefly Aerospace

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. AE Industrial Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Firefly Aerospace in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,063,863,000. Vanguard Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Firefly Aerospace in the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,409,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Firefly Aerospace in the 3rd quarter valued at about $50,711,000. UBS Group AG lifted its position in Firefly Aerospace by 233.6% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,773,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,676,000 after acquiring an additional 1,241,987 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors purchased a new position in Firefly Aerospace in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,337,000.

About Firefly Aerospace

Firefly Aerospace (NASDAQ:FLY) is a U.S.-based aerospace company that designs, manufactures and operates launch vehicles and in-space systems for commercial, civil and national security customers. The company focuses on providing end-to-end small- and medium-lift launch services, mission integration and spacecraft hardware to support satellite deployment and on-orbit operations.

Firefly’s product portfolio includes the Alpha small launch vehicle, developed to carry small satellites to low Earth orbit, and plans for larger vehicles and in-space capabilities to address a range of payload sizes and mission profiles.