AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Trading Down 7% – What’s Next?

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)’s share price dropped 7% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $158.18 and last traded at $157.0320. Approximately 205,988 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 1,622,515 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.86.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price 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. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $391.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of AeroVironment from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Zacks Research raised AeroVironment from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on AeroVironment from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Two equities research 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AeroVironment presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $318.78.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $194.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $256.05. The stock has a market cap of $8.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -38.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 4.54 and a current ratio of 5.51.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 10th. The aerospace company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.04). AeroVironment had a positive return on equity of 3.26% and a negative net margin of 13.93%.The firm had revenue of $408.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $487.94 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 143.4% compared to the same quarter last year. AeroVironment has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.750-3.100 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 16,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,598,638.30. This trade represents a 2.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Brian Charles Shackley sold 200 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,794 shares in the company, valued at $1,231,340.88. This trade represents a 3.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 2,096 shares of company stock valued at $505,103 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AeroVironment

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new stake in AeroVironment during the third quarter worth about $314,890,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in AeroVironment in the fourth quarter valued at about $94,655,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in shares of AeroVironment by 24,798.7% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 315,716 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $99,416,000 after acquiring an additional 314,448 shares during the period. Swedbank AB grew its position in shares of AeroVironment by 22,773.4% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 261,214 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $63,185,000 after acquiring an additional 260,072 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 4,770.1% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 260,207 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $62,941,000 after purchasing an additional 254,864 shares during the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.