AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Shares Down 3.2% – Should You Sell?

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) shares traded down 3.2% on Monday. The company traded as low as $147.02 and last traded at $147.23. Approximately 1,087,769 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 35% from the average daily volume of 1,677,786 shares. The stock had previously closed at $152.05.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $285.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on AeroVironment from $229.00 to $204.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Wolfe Research cut AeroVironment to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded AeroVironment from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $210.00 to $180.00 in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded AeroVironment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $238.89.

AeroVironment Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $7.28 billion, a PE ratio of -61.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 3.33, a current ratio of 4.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $158.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $171.61.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last released 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. AeroVironment had a negative net margin of 5.77% and a positive return on equity of 4.04%. The business had revenue of $480.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $451.95 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.32 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. AeroVironment has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.020-3.340 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Stephen F. Page sold 250 shares of the business’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 transaction, the director directly owned 48,253 shares in the company, valued at $7,347,484.31. The trade was a 0.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 the company’s 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,888 shares in the company, valued at $1,592,271.68. This represents a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 805 shares of company stock worth $142,671. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AeroVironment

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cim Investment Management Inc. grew its position in AeroVironment by 15.0% during the 2nd quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,295 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC raised its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 16.8% in the second quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 2,019 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $333,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the second quarter worth $59,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 31.4% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 6,084 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,004,000 after buying an additional 1,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the second quarter valued at $176,000. Hedge funds and other 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.