AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Stock Price Up 4.3% on Analyst Upgrade

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) shares rose 4.3% during mid-day trading on Monday after Raymond James Financial upgraded the stock from an underperform rating to a market perform rating. The company traded as high as $211.50 and last traded at $206.27. Approximately 1,729,133 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 12% from the average daily volume of 1,967,684 shares. The stock had previously closed at $197.72.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $389.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $486.00 to $429.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $335.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Citizens Jmp lowered their price target on AeroVironment from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $318.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.55, for a total transaction of $88,921.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 16,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,598,638.30. The trade was a 2.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Brian Charles Shackley sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.52, for a total value of $42,504.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,231,340.88. This represents a 3.34% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,924 shares of company stock valued at $1,486,038. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AeroVironment

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AVAV. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the third quarter valued at $314,890,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 14.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,478,114 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $991,089,000 after buying an additional 433,830 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the 4th quarter worth about $94,655,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in shares of AeroVironment by 24,798.7% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 315,716 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $99,416,000 after buying an additional 314,448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in AeroVironment by 75.6% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 609,019 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $173,540,000 after acquiring an additional 262,239 shares during the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AeroVironment Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 4.54 and a current ratio of 5.51. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $269.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $291.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.30 billion, a PE ratio of -47.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 1.26.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 10th. The aerospace company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $408.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $487.94 million. AeroVironment had a negative net margin of 13.93% and a positive return on equity of 3.26%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 143.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. AeroVironment has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.750-3.100 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

AeroVironment Company Profile

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.