AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Trading Up 3.2% – Still a Buy?

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)’s share price rose 3.2% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $159.50 and last traded at $161.0920. 142,665 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 1,682,035 shares. The stock had previously closed at $156.15.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVAV has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on AeroVironment from $280.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen raised AeroVironment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 5th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $248.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Wedbush began coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $238.89.

AeroVironment Stock Up 2.2%

The stock has a market cap of $8.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -68.12, a P/E/G ratio of 5.49 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 4.26, a quick ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $158.05 and its 200 day moving average is $174.07.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 9th. The aerospace company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.37. AeroVironment had a positive return on equity of 4.04% and a negative net margin of 5.77%.The company had revenue of $480.49 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $451.95 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. AeroVironment has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.020-3.340 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.25 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Stephen Page sold 250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.27, for a total transaction of $38,067.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 48,253 shares in the company, valued at $7,347,484.31. This represents a 0.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Brian Shackley sold 205 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.86, for a total transaction of $41,381.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 7,888 shares in the company, valued at $1,592,271.68. This represents a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 805 shares of company stock worth $142,671 in the last ninety days. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AVAV. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in AeroVironment in the 2nd quarter valued at $574,566,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of AeroVironment by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 884,395 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $213,956,000 after acquiring an additional 71,903 shares in the last quarter. Heard Capital LLC increased its stake in AeroVironment by 48.4% in the fourth quarter. Heard Capital LLC now owns 722,150 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $174,681,000 after acquiring an additional 235,685 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in AeroVironment in the fourth quarter valued at about $94,655,000. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC raised its position in AeroVironment by 18.8% in the first quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 490,426 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $89,772,000 after purchasing an additional 77,619 shares in the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About AeroVironment

AeroVironment, Inc is a defense technology company that develops and produces unmanned aircraft systems, loitering munitions, counter-unmanned aircraft systems and related robotic technologies. Its products are designed for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, precision strike, force protection and tactical communications applications.

The company’s portfolio includes the Raven, Puma and Wasp small unmanned aircraft systems; the JUMP 20 vertical takeoff and landing aircraft; and the Switchblade family of loitering munitions.