AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Shares Up 2.6% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• AeroVironment's shares rose by 2.6%, reaching a last trading price of $236.91 with an increased trading volume of 897,414 shares.
• Wall Street analysts are optimistic, with multiple firms issuing "buy" ratings and an average target price of $292.33.
• AeroVironment reported a 140% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year, although earnings per share fell short of estimates.

Shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) shot up 2.6% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $239.50 and last traded at $236.91. 897,414 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 8% from the average session volume of 833,094 shares. The stock had previously closed at $230.99.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AVAV. Wedbush raised shares of AeroVironment to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $240.00 price objective on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on AeroVironment in a report on Monday, August 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $305.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on AeroVironment from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded AeroVironment from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AeroVironment has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $292.33.

AeroVironment Stock Up 4.6%

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 stock has a market cap of $12.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 156.07 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a fifty day moving average of $251.88 and a 200 day moving average of $191.33.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, September 9th. The aerospace company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.02). AeroVironment had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 10.68%. The company had revenue of $454.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $446.16 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. AeroVironment's quarterly revenue was up 140.0% on a year-over-year basis. AeroVironment has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.600-3.70 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AeroVironment

In other AeroVironment news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 17,300 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 122,233 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,153,390.65. The trade was a 12.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.81% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AeroVironment

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in AeroVironment by 14.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,478,114 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $991,089,000 after purchasing an additional 433,830 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its position in AeroVironment by 48.2% during the first quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 902,814 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $107,606,000 after buying an additional 293,553 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its stake in AeroVironment by 41.0% during the first quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 763,489 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $91,000,000 after acquiring an additional 221,948 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of AeroVironment by 1.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 678,431 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $193,342,000 after purchasing an additional 6,475 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in AeroVironment by 75.6% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 609,019 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $173,540,000 after buying an additional 262,239 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.38% of the company's stock.

AeroVironment Company Profile

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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