AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Trading Up 2.9% – What’s Next?

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)’s share price rose 2.9% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $152.20 and last traded at $148.78. 1,979,409 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 24% from the average daily volume of 1,600,905 shares. The stock had previously closed at $144.65.

Trending Headlines about AeroVironment

Here are the key news stories impacting AeroVironment this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly earnings beat expectations. AeroVironment reported adjusted EPS of $0.59, well above the $0.22 consensus estimate, while revenue reached a record $480.5 million, up 5.7% year over year and ahead of forecasts. AeroVironment Announces Fiscal 2027 First Quarter Results
• Positive Sentiment: Backlog and bookings support future growth. Funded backlog rose 37% year over year to a record $1.5 billion, with approximately $700 million of quarterly bookings and a 1.4 book-to-bill ratio. Management said fiscal 2027 is off to a strong start and expects a second-half ramp-up. AeroVironment Q1 2027 Earnings Call Transcript
• Positive Sentiment: LOCUST gained its first international customer. AeroVironment announced a direct commercial-sale order worth more than $50 million for its LOCUST directed-energy counter-drone system. The deal expands the addressable market for a product management believes could become a flagship business franchise. AV Secures First International Order for LOCUST Directed Energy Counter-Drone Systems
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment improved. JPMorgan raised its price target to $210 and maintained an Overweight rating, while Citizens JMP, Needham and BTIG reiterated bullish ratings with targets ranging from $205 to $230. Analysts Boost Forecasts on AeroVironment
• Neutral Sentiment: Full-year guidance was maintained. Fiscal 2027 revenue guidance remains approximately $2.1 billion to $2.2 billion, and EPS guidance is $3.02 to $3.34. The revenue midpoint is slightly below consensus, but unchanged guidance reduces near-term uncertainty.
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and execution remain risks. Despite the earnings beat, analysts noted that the shares have already experienced significant volatility, while the company continues to report a negative GAAP net margin. Some coverage also cited concerns that the guidance midpoint does not exceed expectations. Why AVAV Fell Despite an Earnings Beat

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AVAV. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Wolfe Research downgraded AeroVironment to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on AeroVironment from $305.00 to $229.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Wedbush assumed coverage on AeroVironment in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $249.89.

AeroVironment Stock Up 4.5%

The company has a current ratio of 4.30, a quick ratio of 3.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $159.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $179.83. The company has a market cap of $7.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.15 and a beta of 1.41.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 9th. The aerospace company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $480.49 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $451.95 million. AeroVironment had a positive return on equity of 3.71% and a negative net margin of 9.00%.The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. AeroVironment has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.020-3.340 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Stephen Page sold 250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.98, for a total transaction of $47,995.00. Following the sale, the director owned 48,503 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,311,605.94. This trade represents a 0.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Brian Shackley sold 205 shares of AeroVironment 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 owned 7,888 shares in the company, valued at $1,592,271.68. This trade represents a 2.53% 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 705 shares of company stock valued at $132,979 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AVAV. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the first quarter worth $25,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in AeroVironment in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new stake in AeroVironment in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its stake in AeroVironment by 90.0% in the 4th quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 133 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Toth Financial Advisory Corp acquired a new position in AeroVironment in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

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.