AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Stock Price Up 5.6% – Here’s Why

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) shares rose 5.6% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $162.30 and last traded at $158.73. 1,641,886 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 2% from the average daily volume of 1,682,758 shares. The stock had previously closed at $150.35.

Key AeroVironment News

Here are the key news stories impacting AeroVironment this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Several law firms reiterated the approaching July 27 lead-plaintiff deadline in the AVAV securities class action, keeping AeroVironment in the news and highlighting ongoing legal overhang. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also saw another round of short-interest commentary, but the filing reported zero shares short, so it does not appear to add meaningful new pressure. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: AeroVironment recently scored a new Army contract, and investors have also been encouraged by strong defense-program momentum, which supports the long-term revenue outlook even as the stock trades lower near term. Article Title

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AVAV. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on AeroVironment from $315.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on AeroVironment from $295.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $280.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $305.00 to $229.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Citizens Jmp dropped their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $350.00 to $230.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AeroVironment currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $266.68.

AeroVironment Stock Down 5.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 3.59 and a current ratio of 4.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $166.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $213.45. The company has a market cap of $7.57 billion, a P/E ratio of -40.63, a P/E/G ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 1.39.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last announced its earnings results on Monday, June 29th. The aerospace company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $641.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $555.97 million. AeroVironment had a positive return on equity of 3.71% and a negative net margin of 9.00%.During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.61 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 133.3% on a year-over-year basis. AeroVironment has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.020-3.340 EPS. Research analysts expect that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AeroVironment

In other news, Director Stephen F. Page sold 250 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.41, for a total value of $43,602.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 49,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,546,264.41. The trade was a 0.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AeroVironment

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVAV. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the 1st quarter valued at $225,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the 2nd quarter worth $285,000. American Century Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the second quarter worth $633,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of AeroVironment by 5,200.0% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 159 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 0.4% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 24,188 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,892,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.