AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Stock Price Up 13.6% – Still a Buy?

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)’s stock price rose 13.6% on Monday. The company traded as high as $126.74 and last traded at $128.0820. 1,132,584 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 31% from the average session volume of 1,648,874 shares. The stock had previously closed at $112.76.

Key AeroVironment News

Here are the key news stories impacting AeroVironment this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AeroVironment secured a multiyear IDIQ contract with a ceiling of $940 million, including an initial award of approximately $315 million for product deliveries and support through its AxS segment. The award provides near-term work and potential for additional orders under the contract. Contract announcement
• Positive Sentiment: A Zacks preview says AVAV’s earnings-surprise history and current estimate-related indicators point to potential for another quarterly earnings beat. This is an analyst-screening signal, not a company forecast or guarantee. Earnings preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Drone and defense stocks are broadly rallying, with the new AVAV award and an upcoming earnings report cited as sector catalysts. Drone and defense stocks report

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVAV has been the topic of several research reports. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Citizens Jmp dropped their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $230.00 to $170.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Friday, October 9th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $237.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AeroVironment has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $223.86.

AeroVironment Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $6.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -54.61, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 4.26, a quick ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $137.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $180.95.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 9th. The aerospace company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.37. AeroVironment had a positive return on equity of 4.04% and a negative net margin of 5.77%. The business had revenue of $480.49 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $451.95 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. AeroVironment has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.020-3.340 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AeroVironment

In other AeroVironment news, Director Stephen F. Page sold 250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.27, for a total transaction of $38,067.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 48,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,347,484.31. This represents a 0.52% 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 the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,888 shares in the company, 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 805 shares of company stock valued at $142,671. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AeroVironment

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in AeroVironment in the second quarter valued at approximately $574,566,000. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its holdings in AeroVironment by 20.1% during the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 595,134 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $84,640,000 after acquiring an additional 99,494 shares during the period. American Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in AeroVironment during the 2nd quarter worth $69,745,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the 2nd quarter valued at $67,549,000. Finally, Korea Investment CORP bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the 2nd quarter valued at $54,901,000. 86.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AeroVironment Company Profile

AeroVironment, Inc develops uncrewed aircraft systems and other technology for defense, government and commercial customers. Its products include small drones used for reconnaissance and surveillance, as well as the Switchblade family of loitering munitions. The company also provides counter-drone systems, training, support and related services.

Founded in 1971 by engineer and inventor Paul MacCready, AeroVironment has a history of developing aircraft and uncrewed systems. Its customers include U.S.