AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Stock Falls 1.3% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• AeroVironment shares fell 1.3% to $140.31 on Thursday, with trading volume below its average. The stock remains below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $231.89, despite recent target-price cuts from Stifel Nicolaus and Piper Sandler.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.59 in EPS versus a $0.22 estimate and revenue of $480.49 million. However, insiders have sold shares recently, while institutional investors own 86.38% of the stock.

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 1.3% during trading on Thursday. The stock traded as low as $138.40 and last traded at $140.31. Approximately 1,261,170 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 25% from the average daily volume of 1,674,680 shares. The stock had previously closed at $142.22.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $315.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of AeroVironment from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a report on Friday, September 18th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on AeroVironment from $248.00 to $235.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut AeroVironment to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Two investment 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 issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $231.89.

AeroVironment Stock Down 1.3%

The stock has a market cap of $7.13 billion, a PE ratio of -59.96, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 4.26 and a quick ratio of 3.33. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $158.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $171.12.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 9th. The aerospace company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $480.49 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $451.95 million. AeroVironment had a positive return on equity of 4.04% and a negative net margin of 5.77%.AeroVironment's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.32 EPS. AeroVironment has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.020-3.340 EPS. Analysts expect that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.25 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Stephen F. Page sold 250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.27, for a total transaction of $38,067.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 48,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,347,484.31. This represents a 0.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.86, for a total value 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 represents a 2.53% decrease in their position. 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 805 shares of company stock valued at $142,671. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AeroVironment

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AVAV. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in AeroVironment in the second quarter worth approximately $574,566,000. American Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the 2nd quarter valued at $69,745,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the 2nd quarter worth $67,549,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the 4th quarter worth $94,655,000. Finally, Korea Investment CORP bought a new position in AeroVironment in the 2nd quarter worth $54,901,000. Institutional investors own 86.38% of the company's stock.

AeroVironment Company Profile

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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