AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Trading 4.6% Higher – Still a Buy?

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)’s share price shot up 4.6% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $156.14 and last traded at $153.40. 3,038,234 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 80% from the average daily volume of 1,688,054 shares. The stock had previously closed at $146.71.

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, adding to the company’s defense backlog and supporting expectations for future revenue. AeroVironment unit BlueHalo wins $99.8M Air Force space contract
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s post-earnings recovery continued after AeroVironment reported quarterly EPS of $0.59 versus a $0.22 consensus estimate and revenue of $480.5 million, above expectations. The results also showed 5.7% year-over-year revenue growth. AeroVironment Rises 6% as Post-Earnings Recovery Outpaces Drone Group
• Positive Sentiment: AeroVironment announced a collaboration with Nominal to improve testing and production data for complex, mission-critical hardware. While financial terms were not disclosed, the partnership could support faster manufacturing and industrialization of autonomous systems. Nominal Partners with AeroVironment
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains cautious: RBC Capital maintained a Hold rating, while Bank of America lowered its expectations for the stock. These views may limit enthusiasm despite the operational news.
• Negative Sentiment: Berger Montague announced an investigation into AeroVironment’s board over whether shareholders were adequately informed about potential competition for U.S. Space Force SCAR program work. The investigation is preliminary, but it creates legal and governance risk. Berger Montague investigates AeroVironment

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on AVAV shares. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Thursday. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on AeroVironment from $280.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Thursday. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $247.79.

AeroVironment Stock Up 4.6%

The company has a market cap of $7.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -65.56, a PEG ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 1.41. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $157.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $178.20. The company has a quick ratio of 3.33, a current ratio of 4.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 9th. The aerospace company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. AeroVironment has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.020-3.340 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AeroVironment news, CAO Brian Shackley sold 205 shares of the 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 owned 7,888 shares in the company, valued at $1,592,271.68. This trade represents a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Stephen Page sold 250 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director directly owned 48,503 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,311,605.94. This represents a 0.51% 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. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Analysts LLC boosted its holdings in AeroVironment by 16.8% during the second quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 2,019 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $333,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the second quarter worth about $59,000. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 31.4% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 6,084 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,004,000 after purchasing an additional 1,455 shares during the period. Nykredit A S acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the 2nd quarter worth about $176,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in AeroVironment by 119.9% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 387 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

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.