AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Trading Down 4.6% – What’s Next?

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)’s share price was down 4.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $181.70 and last traded at $183.50. Approximately 817,537 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 51% from the average daily volume of 1,682,651 shares. The stock had previously closed at $192.34.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AVAV shares. Wall Street Zen lowered AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 4th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on AeroVironment from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Raymond James Financial raised AeroVironment from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on AeroVironment from $389.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AeroVironment has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $318.78.

AeroVironment Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $9.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -42.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $207.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $269.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 4.54 and a current ratio of 5.51.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 10th. The aerospace company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $408.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $487.94 million. AeroVironment had a positive return on equity of 3.26% and a negative net margin of 13.93%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 143.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.30 EPS. AeroVironment has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.750-3.100 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 879 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.60, for a total transaction of $235,220.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 16,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,394,527.20. The trade was a 5.08% 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. Also, Director Stephen F. Page sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.95, for a total value of $127,475.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 50,501 shares in the company, valued at $12,875,229.95. The trade was a 0.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,975 shares of company stock valued at $740,324. 0.81% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,530,073 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,111,585,000 after acquiring an additional 51,959 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $314,890,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 884,395 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $213,956,000 after acquiring an additional 71,903 shares during the last quarter. Heard Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 48.4% during the 4th quarter. Heard Capital LLC now owns 722,150 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $174,681,000 after acquiring an additional 235,685 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 686,273 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $216,101,000 after acquiring an additional 101,713 shares during the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AeroVironment Company Profile

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.