AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Trading Up 1.4% - What's Next?

Key Points

• AeroVironment shares rose 1.4% to $156.35 in midday trading, while volume was 38% below the average daily level. The stock remains below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a $266.68 price target, despite recent target-price cuts from Piper Sandler and Jefferies.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.84 in EPS versus $1.47 expected and $641.62 million in revenue, up 133.3% year over year. Institutional investors own 86.38% of the stock, while a director recently sold shares under a pre-arranged trading plan.

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) was up 1.4% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $156.48 and last traded at $156.35. Approximately 1,034,942 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 38% from the average daily volume of 1,667,489 shares. The stock had previously closed at $154.24.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on AeroVironment from $248.00 to $235.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on AeroVironment from $305.00 to $229.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Clear Str raised shares of AeroVironment to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $266.68.

AeroVironment Stock Up 1.4%

The company has a market capitalization of $7.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -42.49, a P/E/G ratio of 5.08 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 3.59, a current ratio of 4.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $166.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $211.71.

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

Insider Activity

In other AeroVironment news, Director Stephen F. Page sold 250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.41, for a total value of $43,602.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 49,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,546,264.41. This represents a 0.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AeroVironment

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. F m Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the fourth quarter worth about $1,775,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in AeroVironment in the fourth quarter worth about $94,655,000. MYDA Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AeroVironment in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,628,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in AeroVironment by 92.2% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 20,173 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $5,168,000 after buying an additional 9,675 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its stake in AeroVironment by 289.9% during the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 222,055 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $53,714,000 after buying an additional 165,106 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.38% of the company's stock.

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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