AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Stock Price Up 1.9% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) rose 1.9% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $150.75 and last traded at $149.37. 941,535 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 43% from the average session volume of 1,655,870 shares. The stock had previously closed at $146.57.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AVAV. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $280.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $248.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen raised AeroVironment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Two 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AeroVironment presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $266.68.

AeroVironment Stock Up 1.9%

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 stock has a market cap of $7.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -40.59, a PEG ratio of 5.08 and a beta of 1.39. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $165.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $207.19.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last announced its earnings results on Monday, June 29th. The aerospace company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.37. AeroVironment had a negative net margin of 9.00% and a positive return on equity of 3.71%. The company had revenue of $641.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $555.97 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.61 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 133.3% compared to the same quarter last year. AeroVironment has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.020-3.340 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AeroVironment

In other news, Director Stephen F. Page sold 250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.41, for a total transaction of $43,602.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 49,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,546,264.41. The trade was a 0.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.81% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AeroVironment

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the first quarter worth about $225,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $285,000. American Century Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in AeroVironment in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $633,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in AeroVironment by 5,200.0% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 159 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in AeroVironment by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 24,188 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,892,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.