Brokerages Set AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) Price Target at $255.47

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $247.7895.

AVAV has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wedbush initiated coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Wall Street Zen raised AeroVironment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on AeroVironment from $305.00 to $229.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st.

AeroVironment Trading Up 4.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:AVAV opened at $153.40 on Thursday. AeroVironment has a 1 year low of $135.20 and a 1 year high of $417.86. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $156.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.43. The stock 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 company has a current ratio of 4.26, a quick ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 9th. The aerospace company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.37. The business 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%.The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. AeroVironment has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.020-3.340 EPS. Analysts expect that AeroVironment will post 3.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AeroVironment

In other AeroVironment news, CAO Brian Shackley sold 205 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.86, for a total transaction of $41,381.30. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 7,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,592,271.68. This represents a 2.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Stephen Page sold 250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.98, for a total transaction of $47,995.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 48,503 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,311,605.94. The trade was a 0.51% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AeroVironment

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in AeroVironment in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in AeroVironment during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new position in AeroVironment during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its position in shares of AeroVironment by 90.0% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Toth Financial Advisory Corp bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the second quarter valued at $33,000. 86.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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. The award reinforces AeroVironment’s exposure to government space and defense spending and may improve confidence in future revenue visibility. AeroVironment unit BlueHalo wins $99.8M Air Force space contract
• Positive Sentiment: The stock’s post-earnings recovery is outpacing other publicly traded drone companies, suggesting investors are giving AVAV more credit for its diversified defense portfolio and recent operating performance. The company’s latest quarter exceeded analyst expectations, with EPS of $0.59 versus a $0.22 consensus estimate and revenue of $480.5 million versus expectations of $452.0 million. AeroVironment Rises as Post-Earnings Recovery Outpaces Drone Group
• Neutral Sentiment: AeroVironment announced a collaboration with Nominal to improve test and production data processes for complex, mission-critical hardware. The partnership could support manufacturing efficiency, but no immediate financial impact was disclosed. Nominal Partners with AeroVironment
• Negative Sentiment: Berger Montague announced an investigation into AeroVironment’s board over potential fiduciary-duty breaches and alleged disclosure issues related to competition for the Space Force’s SCAR program. The investigation is preliminary, but it introduces legal and governance risk. Berger Montague Investigates AeroVironment

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.