AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Shares Climb 9.3% – Here’s Why

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)’s share price was up 9.3% on Thursday. The company traded as high as $136.69 and last traded at $137.6920. 744,524 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 55% from the average daily volume of 1,647,001 shares. The stock had previously closed at $125.95.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AVAV shares. UBS Group increased their target price on AeroVironment from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Piper Sandler reduced 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. Bank of America decreased their price target on AeroVironment from $225.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $229.00 to $204.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $224.81.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $142.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $189.69. 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 market cap of $7.01 billion, a P/E ratio of -58.86, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.36.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Brian Shackley sold 205 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $1,592,271.68. This trade represents a 2.53% decrease in their position. The transaction 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, Director Stephen F. Page sold 250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.27, for a total value of $38,067.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 48,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,347,484.31. This represents a 0.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 805 shares of company stock valued at $142,671 over the last quarter. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in AeroVironment in the 2nd quarter worth $574,566,000. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its position in AeroVironment by 20.1% during the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 595,134 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $84,640,000 after buying an additional 99,494 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its stake in AeroVironment by 18.8% during 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 2nd quarter valued at approximately $69,745,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $67,549,000. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.