AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Hits New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday. The company traded as low as $110.75 and last traded at $110.3570, with a volume of 894,807 shares. The stock had previously closed at $123.53.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on AVAV. Bank of America dropped their target price on AeroVironment from $225.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded AeroVironment from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $210.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on AeroVironment in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on AeroVironment from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Two research 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $223.86.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $5.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -48.13, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.42. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $139.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $184.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 3.33 and a current ratio of 4.26.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 9th. The aerospace company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. AeroVironment’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.32 earnings per share. AeroVironment has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.020-3.340 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AeroVironment

In related news, 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 directly owned 7,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,592,271.68. The trade was a 2.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Stephen Page sold 250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.27, for a total value of $38,067.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 48,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,347,484.31. This trade represents a 0.52% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 805 shares of company stock valued at $142,671 over the last quarter. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of AeroVironment

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AVAV. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 2.4% in the third quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 3,558 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $506,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 19.0% in the third quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC now owns 671 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Byrne Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 11.9% in the third quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,190 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $167,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in AeroVironment in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, Southern Financial Group LLC increased its position in AeroVironment by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. Southern Financial Group LLC now owns 1,218 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

AeroVironment Company Profile

AeroVironment, Inc is a defense technology company that develops and supplies uncrewed aircraft systems, loitering munitions, counter-uncrewed-aircraft systems, space systems and related autonomous technologies. Its products are designed for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, precision strike, tactical communications and other defense and security missions.

The company’s portfolio includes the Raven, Puma and Quantix unmanned aircraft systems; the JUMP 20 vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft; and the Switchblade family of loitering munitions.