AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Needham & Company LLC

Key Points

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Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) in a research note issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage set a "buy" rating and a $300.00 price target on the aerospace company's stock. Needham & Company LLC's price target indicates a potential upside of 25.08% from the stock's current price.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on AVAV. BTIG Research boosted their target price on AeroVironment from $225.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Raymond James Financial set a $225.00 target price on AeroVironment and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Wedbush upgraded AeroVironment to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on AeroVironment in a research note on Monday, June 30th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $301.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on AeroVironment in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $240.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $286.46.

AeroVironment Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of AVAV stock traded up $4.77 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $239.84. The company had a trading volume of 805,872 shares, compared to its average volume of 789,833. AeroVironment has a 12 month low of $102.25 and a 12 month high of $295.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 3.52 and a quick ratio of 2.69. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $247.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $185.24. The company has a market cap of $11.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 154.74 and a beta of 0.99.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 24th. The aerospace company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $275.05 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $242.69 million. AeroVironment had a return on equity of 10.68% and a net margin of 5.32%.AeroVironment's revenue was up 39.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. AeroVironment has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.800-3.000 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that AeroVironment will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 17,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.05, for a total transaction of $4,550,765.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 122,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,153,390.65. The trade was a 12.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.81% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of AeroVironment

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AVAV. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 121.4% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 40,846 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $6,286,000 after purchasing an additional 22,393 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in AeroVironment by 49.6% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,329 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $546,000 after buying an additional 1,104 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC grew its position in AeroVironment by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 4,183 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $644,000 after buying an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in AeroVironment by 2,077.7% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 24,652 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $3,794,000 after buying an additional 23,520 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Freedom Investment Management Inc. grew its position in AeroVironment by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,496 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $230,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About AeroVironment

AeroVironment, Inc designs, develops, produces, delivers, and supports a portfolio of robotic systems and related services for government agencies and businesses in the United States and internationally. It operates through Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (SUAS), Tactical Missile System (TMS), Medium Unmanned Aircraft Systems (MUAS), and High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite Systems (HAPS) segments.