AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Wedbush

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) was upgraded by research analysts at Wedbush to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on AeroVironment from $315.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Monday, June 8th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $400.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $290.00 to $248.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $250.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $277.37.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

Shares of AVAV stock opened at $172.44 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 5.51 and a quick ratio of 4.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $175.62 and a 200-day moving average of $224.09. AeroVironment has a one year low of $135.20 and a one year high of $417.86. The company has a market cap of $8.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -46.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.40.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $641.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $555.97 million. AeroVironment had a negative net margin of 9.00% and a positive return on equity of 3.72%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 133.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.61 EPS. AeroVironment has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.020-3.340 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that AeroVironment will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AeroVironment

In other AeroVironment news, Director Stephen F. Page sold 250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.41, for a total value of $43,602.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 49,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,546,264.41. This trade represents a 0.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 750 shares of company stock valued at $133,502 in the last three months. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AVAV. ARK Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of AeroVironment by 28.9% during the 3rd quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 400,457 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $126,100,000 after buying an additional 89,697 shares in the last quarter. F m Investments LLC purchased a new stake in AeroVironment during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,775,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in AeroVironment during the fourth quarter worth about $94,655,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 884,395 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $213,956,000 after purchasing an additional 71,903 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of AeroVironment by 92.2% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 20,173 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,168,000 after purchasing an additional 9,675 shares during the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AeroVironment News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting AeroVironment this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AeroVironment won a $500 million U.S. Department of Defense counter-drone contract, reinforcing the company’s role in military modernization and providing another meaningful growth catalyst. AeroVironment Stock Rises On $500 Million Counter-Drone Contract
• Positive Sentiment: The company reported fiscal Q4 EPS of $1.84 versus $1.47 expected and revenue of $641.6 million versus $556.0 million expected, a sharp year-over-year jump that signals accelerating demand. AeroVironment (AVAV) Shares Skyrocket, What You Need To Know
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted a record roughly $1.2 billion funded backlog and strong growth in autonomous systems, which supports future revenue visibility and helped fuel bullish analyst commentary. AeroVironment shares jump on strong earnings beat, record backlog and Pentagon spending tailwinds
• Neutral Sentiment: Wedbush initiated coverage on AeroVironment and Kratos with an Outperform view, adding to the positive tone around defense-tech names. AeroVironment, Kratos gain as Wedbush initiates at Outperform
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms announced or repeated securities class-action deadlines tied to prior disclosures, which could add headline risk and pressure sentiment even as the operating story improves. Deadline Alert: AeroVironment, Inc. (AVAV) Shareholders Who Lost Money Urged To Contact Glancy Prongay Wolke & Rotter LLP About Securities Fraud Lawsuit

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.