AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Trading Up 4.6% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) traded up 4.6% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $156.14 and last traded at $153.40. 3,038,234 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 80% from the average daily volume of 1,688,054 shares. The stock had previously closed at $146.71.

More AeroVironment News

Here are the key news stories impacting AeroVironment this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AeroVironment subsidiary BlueHalo won a $99.8 million U.S. Air Force space contract, adding to the company’s defense backlog and supporting expectations for future revenue. AeroVironment unit BlueHalo wins $99.8M Air Force space contract
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s post-earnings recovery continued after AeroVironment reported quarterly EPS of $0.59 versus a $0.22 consensus estimate and revenue of $480.5 million, above expectations. The results also showed 5.7% year-over-year revenue growth. AeroVironment Rises 6% as Post-Earnings Recovery Outpaces Drone Group
• Positive Sentiment: AeroVironment announced a collaboration with Nominal to improve testing and production data for complex, mission-critical hardware. While financial terms were not disclosed, the partnership could support faster manufacturing and industrialization of autonomous systems. Nominal Partners with AeroVironment
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains cautious: RBC Capital maintained a Hold rating, while Bank of America lowered its expectations for the stock. These views may limit enthusiasm despite the operational news.
• Negative Sentiment: Berger Montague announced an investigation into AeroVironment’s board over whether shareholders were adequately informed about potential competition for U.S. Space Force SCAR program work. The investigation is preliminary, but it creates legal and governance risk. Berger Montague investigates AeroVironment

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on AVAV. Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered shares of AeroVironment from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $210.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of AeroVironment to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AeroVironment has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $247.79.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

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 firm has a market capitalization of $7.80 billion, a PE ratio of -65.56, a P/E/G ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $157.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $178.20.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 9th. The aerospace company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $480.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $451.95 million. AeroVironment had a positive return on equity of 4.04% and a negative net margin of 5.77%.AeroVironment’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Research analysts anticipate that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AeroVironment

In related news, Director Stephen F. Page sold 250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.98, for a total value of $47,995.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 48,503 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,311,605.94. This trade represents a 0.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible 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 that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.86, for a total transaction of $41,381.30. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 7,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,592,271.68. The trade was 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. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AeroVironment

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of AeroVironment by 16,307.2% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 6,215,051 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,025,918,000 after purchasing an additional 6,177,171 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the second quarter worth approximately $574,566,000. American Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in AeroVironment during the second quarter valued at approximately $69,745,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in AeroVironment during the second quarter valued at approximately $67,549,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in AeroVironment in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $94,655,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

About AeroVironment

AeroVironment, Inc is a defense technology company that develops and produces unmanned aircraft systems, loitering munitions, counter-unmanned aircraft systems and related robotic technologies. Its products are designed for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, precision strike, force protection and tactical communications applications.

The company’s portfolio includes the Raven, Puma and Wasp small unmanned aircraft systems; the JUMP 20 vertical takeoff and landing aircraft; and the Switchblade family of loitering munitions.