AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Price Target Cut to $170.00 by Analysts at Citizens Jmp

Key Points

• Citizens JMP cut AeroVironment’s price target from $230 to $170 while maintaining a “market outperform” rating; the new target implies roughly 39.6% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with the stock carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $225.80, despite several recent downgrades and target reductions.
• AeroVironment recently beat quarterly expectations, reporting $0.59 in earnings per share versus a $0.22 consensus estimate and $480.49 million in revenue, up 5.7% year over year.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) had its price objective lowered by analysts at Citizens Jmp from $230.00 to $170.00 in a research note issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "market outperform" rating on the aerospace company's stock. Citizens Jmp's price target points to a potential upside of 39.58% from the company's previous close.

AVAV has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded AeroVironment from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Citigroup started coverage on AeroVironment in a research report on Friday. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on AeroVironment from $229.00 to $204.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded AeroVironment from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $210.00 to $180.00 in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $225.80.

AeroVironment Price Performance

NASDAQ AVAV opened at $121.79 on Monday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $152.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $165.32. AeroVironment has a one year low of $116.43 and a one year high of $408.25. The firm has a market cap of $6.19 billion, a PE ratio of -52.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 4.26 and a quick ratio of 3.33.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 9th. The aerospace company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $480.49 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $451.95 million. AeroVironment had a negative net margin of 5.77% and a positive return on equity of 4.04%. AeroVironment's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. AeroVironment has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.020-3.340 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AeroVironment will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AeroVironment

In other news, Director Stephen Page sold 250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.27, for a total transaction of $38,067.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 48,253 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,347,484.31. This trade represents a 0.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Brian Shackley sold 205 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.86, for a total transaction of $41,381.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 7,888 shares in the company, valued at $1,592,271.68. This trade represents a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 805 shares of company stock valued at $142,671 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AeroVironment

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in AeroVironment by 12.3% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 6,834 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $972,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 8.0% during the third quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,588 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $653,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 21.7% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 11,055 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,572,000 after acquiring an additional 1,971 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of AeroVironment by 140.4% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 44,481 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $6,326,000 after purchasing an additional 25,975 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in shares of AeroVironment by 13.4% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 3,583 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $509,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.38% of the company's stock.

About AeroVironment

AeroVironment, Inc is a defense technology company that develops and supplies autonomous systems, uncrewed aircraft, loitering munitions and counter-uncrewed-aircraft systems. Its portfolio includes small unmanned aircraft systems such as Raven, Puma and Wasp, as well as larger platforms including JUMP 20 and Quantix Recon.

The company is also known for its Switchblade family of loitering munitions, which combine surveillance, target identification and precision strike capabilities. AeroVironment provides related ground control systems, sensors, software, communications equipment, training and support services for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions.

Founded in 1971 by aerospace engineer Paul B.

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