AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Upgraded to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Saturday morning.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on AVAV. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $320.00 target price for the company. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $259.00 to $236.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Citizens Jmp decreased their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Clear Str raised shares of AeroVironment to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $318.78.

AeroVironment Price Performance

AVAV stock opened at $158.00 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $193.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $255.37. The company has a market capitalization of $7.89 billion, a P/E ratio of -36.41, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.35. AeroVironment has a 52-week low of $156.00 and a 52-week high of $417.86. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 10th. The aerospace company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.04). AeroVironment had a negative net margin of 13.93% and a positive return on equity of 3.26%. The business had revenue of $408.05 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $487.94 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.30 EPS. AeroVironment’s revenue was up 143.4% on a year-over-year basis. AeroVironment has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.750-3.100 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that AeroVironment will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Brian Charles Shackley sold 200 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.52, for a total transaction of $42,504.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 5,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,340.88. This trade represents a 3.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen F. Page sold 500 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.95, for a total transaction of $127,475.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 50,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,875,229.95. This represents a 0.98% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 2,096 shares of company stock valued at $505,103 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AeroVironment

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in AeroVironment in the first quarter valued at $225,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. bought a new stake in AeroVironment in the second quarter valued at $285,000. American Century Companies Inc. bought a new stake in AeroVironment in the second quarter valued at $633,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in AeroVironment by 5,200.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 159 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in AeroVironment by 0.4% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 24,188 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,892,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

About AeroVironment

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.