AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Stock Price Up 3.8% – Should You Buy?

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) shot up 3.8% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $408.25 and last traded at $392.86. 2,018,381 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 6% from the average session volume of 1,902,616 shares. The stock had previously closed at $378.57.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on AVAV. New Street Research set a $365.00 price target on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $390.00 price objective on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on AeroVironment from $335.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $415.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $375.41.

AeroVironment Trading Up 3.8%

The company has a quick ratio of 4.29, a current ratio of 5.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $19.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -314.29, a PEG ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $283.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $289.07.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 9th. The aerospace company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.43). AeroVironment had a negative net margin of 5.08% and a positive return on equity of 3.42%. The business had revenue of $472.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $466.16 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 150.7% on a year-over-year basis. AeroVironment has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.400-3.550 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AeroVironment

In other AeroVironment news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 999 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $367.60, for a total value of $367,232.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 17,301 shares in the company, valued at $6,359,847.60. This represents a 5.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Brian Charles Shackley sold 200 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.92, for a total transaction of $50,184.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,504,014.48. This trade represents a 3.23% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 3,223 shares of company stock valued at $1,092,503 over the last three months. 0.81% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AeroVironment

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 1.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,530,073 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,111,585,000 after acquiring an additional 51,959 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new position in AeroVironment in the 3rd quarter worth about $314,890,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 686,273 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $216,101,000 after purchasing an additional 101,713 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 678,431 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $193,342,000 after buying an additional 6,475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 614,444 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $193,390,000 after buying an additional 83,322 shares in the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About AeroVironment

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.