AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on AeroVironment from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on AeroVironment from $389.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on AeroVironment in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $320.00 price objective on the stock. BTIG Research cut their price objective on AeroVironment from $415.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded AeroVironment from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $318.78.

AeroVironment Price Performance

AVAV stock opened at $189.26 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 5.51, a quick ratio of 4.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a market capitalization of $9.45 billion, a PE ratio of -43.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.38. AeroVironment has a 12-month low of $102.25 and a 12-month high of $417.86. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $233.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $286.94.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm 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%. AeroVironment’s quarterly revenue was up 143.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. AeroVironment has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.750-3.100 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AeroVironment will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AeroVironment news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $3,598,638.30. This represents a 2.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Stephen F. Page sold 250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.52, for a total value of $53,130.00. Following the sale, the director owned 49,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,573,082.52. This trade represents a 0.50% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 4,724 shares of company stock worth $1,435,854 in the last quarter. 0.81% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. ARK Investment Management LLC boosted 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 worth $126,100,000 after acquiring an additional 89,697 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,393,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of AeroVironment by 550.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 178,204 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $56,115,000 after acquiring an additional 150,819 shares in the last quarter. Keystone Investors PTE Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,355,000. Finally, Rheos Capital Works Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,787,000. 86.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.