AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Trading Down 6.1% Following Insider Selling

Key Points

• AeroVironment shares fell 6.1% to around $181 during midday trading after Chief Accounting Officer Brian Charles Shackley sold 205 shares for approximately $41,381 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with the stock carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and a $266.68 average price target, despite some recent target-price reductions.
• The company reported quarterly revenue of $641.62 million, up 133.3% year over year, and adjusted earnings of $1.84 per share, exceeding analyst expectations.

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 6.1% during mid-day trading on Monday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $180.66 and last traded at $181.13. 1,050,912 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 35% from the average session volume of 1,628,275 shares. The stock had previously closed at $192.81.

Specifically, CAO Brian Charles Shackley sold 205 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.86, for a total value of $41,381.30. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,592,271.68. This represents a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVAV has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded shares of AeroVironment from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $210.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. 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. Finally, Zacks Research raised AeroVironment from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $266.68.

AeroVironment Trading Down 6.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 4.30 and a quick ratio of 3.59. The stock's 50-day moving average is $162.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $194.30. The company has a market cap of $9.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -49.22, a P/E/G ratio of 6.56 and a beta of 1.41.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, June 29th. The aerospace company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $641.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $555.97 million. AeroVironment had a negative net margin of 9.00% and a positive return on equity of 3.71%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 133.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.61 EPS. AeroVironment has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.020-3.340 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in AeroVironment in the 2nd quarter worth $574,566,000. American Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in AeroVironment during the second quarter valued at about $69,745,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in AeroVironment in the second quarter worth about $67,549,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the fourth quarter worth about $94,655,000. Finally, Korea Investment CORP bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the second quarter worth about $54,901,000. 86.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.

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