AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Shares Up 1.5% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• AeroVironment's share price increased by 1.5%, reaching $243.73, amid significantly lower trading volume compared to its average.
• Brokerage firm Citizens JMP set a target price of $325.00 for AeroVironment, contributing to a consensus target price of $292.33 with most analysts rating the stock as Buy.
• The company reported a strong quarterly earnings performance, with a revenue increase of 39.6% year-over-year, beating expectations by $32.36 million.

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 1.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $245.04 and last traded at $243.73. 129,601 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 819,468 shares. The stock had previously closed at $240.02.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AVAV. KeyCorp began coverage on AeroVironment in a research report on Sunday, June 29th. They set an "overweight" rating on the stock. Zacks Research raised AeroVironment from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Citizens Jmp began coverage on AeroVironment in a research report on Monday, August 4th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $325.00 target price on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $325.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on AeroVironment from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $292.33.

AeroVironment Stock Down 0.6%

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 firm has a market cap of $11.91 billion, a PE ratio of 154.10 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $255.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $188.72.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. AeroVironment had a return on equity of 10.68% and a net margin of 5.32%.The firm had revenue of $275.05 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $242.69 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.43 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 39.6% compared to the same quarter last year. AeroVironment has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.800-3.000 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AeroVironment news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 17,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.05, for a total value of $4,550,765.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 122,233 shares in the company, valued at $32,153,390.65. The trade was a 12.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.81% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AVAV. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 296.0% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 99 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 120.2% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 185 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. RMG Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 171.1% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 244 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 60.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 117 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.38% of the company's stock.

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.

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