AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Shares Up 11.5% – Here’s Why

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)’s share price traded up 11.5% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $284.80 and last traded at $285.7180. 599,966 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 11% from the average session volume of 672,910 shares. The stock had previously closed at $256.19.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AVAV shares. JMP Securities increased their target price on AeroVironment from $325.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $267.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on AeroVironment from $486.00 to $429.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $375.41.

AeroVironment Trading Up 17.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 5.08 and a quick ratio of 4.29. The stock has a market cap of $14.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -240.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $286.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $281.96.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 9th. The aerospace company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.43). The company had revenue of $472.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $466.16 million. AeroVironment had a positive return on equity of 3.42% and a negative net margin of 5.08%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 150.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.47 EPS. AeroVironment has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.400-3.550 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AeroVironment

In other AeroVironment news, CAO Brian Charles Shackley sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.92, for a total value of $50,184.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,504,014.48. This trade represents a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 998 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $399.74, for a total transaction of $398,940.52. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 19,324 shares in the company, valued at $7,724,575.76. This trade represents a 4.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,222 shares of company stock worth $746,592. 0.81% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AeroVironment

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new position in AeroVironment in the 3rd quarter worth $314,890,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of AeroVironment by 14.3% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,478,114 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $991,089,000 after buying an additional 433,830 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in AeroVironment by 24,798.7% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 315,716 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $99,416,000 after buying an additional 314,448 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the second quarter valued at about $75,690,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 75.6% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 609,019 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $173,540,000 after purchasing an additional 262,239 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

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.