AeroVironment’s (AVAV) “Underperform” Rating Reaffirmed at Raymond James Financial

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV)‘s stock had its “underperform” rating reaffirmed by investment analysts at Raymond James Financial in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, MarketBeat reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on AVAV. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on AeroVironment in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $320.00 price target on the stock. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on AeroVironment from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings downgraded AeroVironment from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of AeroVironment from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AeroVironment presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $367.00.

AeroVironment Trading Down 11.9%

Shares of NASDAQ AVAV traded down $29.91 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $222.35. 3,170,340 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,511,971. The company’s 50-day moving average is $287.75 and its 200-day moving average is $294.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 4.29 and a current ratio of 5.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -182.63, a PEG ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 1.26. AeroVironment has a 52-week low of $102.25 and a 52-week high of $417.86.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 9th. The aerospace company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.43). The company had revenue of $472.51 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $466.16 million. AeroVironment had a negative net margin of 5.08% and a positive return on equity of 3.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 150.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. AeroVironment has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.400-3.550 EPS. Analysts expect that AeroVironment will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AeroVironment

In related news, CAO Brian Charles Shackley sold 200 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.92, for a total value of $50,184.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 5,994 shares in the company, valued at $1,504,014.48. The trade was a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen F. Page sold 250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $68,750.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 50,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,819,025. This trade represents a 0.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 4,339 shares of company stock valued at $1,353,910 over the last 90 days. 0.81% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of AeroVironment

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the 3rd quarter valued at about $314,890,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in AeroVironment by 14.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,478,114 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $991,089,000 after purchasing an additional 433,830 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in AeroVironment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $94,655,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $99,416,000 after purchasing an additional 314,448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in AeroVironment by 75.6% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 609,019 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $173,540,000 after purchasing an additional 262,239 shares in the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.