AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Shares Up 2.3% – Time to Buy?

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) shares traded up 2.3% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $159.80 and last traded at $156.99. 2,488,812 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 47% from the average daily volume of 1,692,632 shares. The stock had previously closed at $153.40.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVAV has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on AeroVironment from $280.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Wedbush initiated coverage on AeroVironment in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on AeroVironment from $248.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on AeroVironment from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $238.89.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $8.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -70.29, a PEG ratio of 5.35 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $156.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $176.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 4.26 and a quick ratio of 3.33.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last released its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $480.49 million during 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 for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.32 EPS. AeroVironment has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.020-3.340 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AeroVironment

In related news, Director Stephen Page sold 250 shares of AeroVironment 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 in the company, valued at $9,311,605.94. The trade was a 0.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 the business’s 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 of the company’s stock, 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. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AVAV. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the 4th quarter worth approximately $94,655,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the 2nd quarter worth about $574,566,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC grew its stake in AeroVironment by 289.9% in the 4th quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 222,055 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $53,714,000 after acquiring an additional 165,106 shares during the last quarter. MYDA Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AeroVironment during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,628,000. Finally, Korea Investment CORP purchased a new position in AeroVironment during the 2nd quarter valued at about $54,901,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

AeroVironment Company Profile

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.