AeroVironment, Inc. (AVAV) - What Are Investment Firms Saying About This Stock?

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is moderately bullish: Twenty-seven brokerages give AeroVironment an average “Moderate Buy” rating, with 19 buys and two strong buys. The average 12-month price target is $224.81, although recent targets range from $165 to $205.
• AeroVironment’s latest results beat expectations, with quarterly EPS of $0.59 versus the $0.22 consensus and revenue of $480.49 million, up 5.7% year over year. Analysts expect about $3.26 in EPS for the current fiscal year.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 86.38%, including a new $574.6 million BlackRock position, while insiders sold 805 shares worth approximately $142,671 over the past 90 days.

Shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-seven brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation, nineteen have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $224.81.

AVAV has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on AeroVironment in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $205.00 price objective for the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn began coverage on AeroVironment in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $165.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America cut their target price on AeroVironment from $225.00 to $185.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 11th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded AeroVironment from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 5th.

AeroVironment Stock Up 7.1%

AVAV opened at $134.88 on Friday. AeroVironment has a one year low of $113.15 and a one year high of $408.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 3.33 and a current ratio of 4.26. The stock's fifty day moving average is $141.82 and its 200-day moving average is $188.54. The company has a market capitalization of $6.85 billion, a PE ratio of -57.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.36.

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

Insider Activity

In other AeroVironment news, Director Stephen F. Page sold 250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.27, for a total value of $38,067.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 48,253 shares in the company, valued at $7,347,484.31. This trade represents a 0.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 stock was sold at an average price of $201.86, for a total transaction of $41,381.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 805 shares of company stock worth $142,671. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AeroVironment

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVAV. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the 2nd quarter valued at about $574,566,000. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its stake in AeroVironment by 20.1% in the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 595,134 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $84,640,000 after acquiring an additional 99,494 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its stake in AeroVironment by 18.8% in the first quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 490,426 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $89,772,000 after acquiring an additional 77,619 shares during the period. American Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in AeroVironment in the second quarter worth about $69,745,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in AeroVironment in the second quarter worth about $67,549,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.38% of the company's stock.

About AeroVironment

AeroVironment, Inc is a defense technology company that develops and supplies uncrewed aircraft systems, loitering munitions, counter-uncrewed-aircraft systems, space systems and related autonomous technologies. Its products are designed for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, precision strike, tactical communications and other defense and security missions.

The company's portfolio includes the Raven, Puma and Quantix unmanned aircraft systems; the JUMP 20 vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft; and the Switchblade family of loitering munitions.

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