AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Stock Price Down 1.3% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) dropped 1.3% on Thursday. The company traded as low as $138.40 and last traded at $140.31. Approximately 1,261,170 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 25% from the average session volume of 1,674,680 shares. The stock had previously closed at $142.22.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on AVAV. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $248.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $280.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AeroVironment has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.89.

AeroVironment Stock Down 1.3%

The company has a quick ratio of 3.33, a current ratio of 4.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a market capitalization of $7.13 billion, a PE ratio of -59.96, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.41. The company’s 50 day moving average is $158.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $171.12.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 9th. The aerospace company reported $0.59 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $480.49 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $451.95 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. AeroVironment has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.020-3.340 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AeroVironment news, Director Stephen F. Page sold 250 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.27, for a total value of $38,067.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 48,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,347,484.31. This trade represents a 0.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Brian Shackley sold 205 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.86, for a total transaction of $41,381.30. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 7,888 shares in the company, valued at $1,592,271.68. This represents a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 805 shares of company stock valued at $142,671 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AeroVironment

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AVAV. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in AeroVironment during the 4th quarter valued at $94,655,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the second quarter valued at $574,566,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 289.9% in the 4th quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 222,055 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $53,714,000 after acquiring an additional 165,106 shares during the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP purchased a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the 2nd quarter worth about $54,901,000. Finally, MYDA Advisors LLC bought a new position in AeroVironment during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,628,000. 86.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About AeroVironment

AeroVironment, Inc is a defense technology company that develops and supplies autonomous systems, uncrewed aircraft, loitering munitions and counter-uncrewed-aircraft systems. Its portfolio includes small unmanned aircraft systems such as Raven, Puma and Wasp, as well as larger platforms including JUMP 20 and Quantix Recon.

The company is also known for its Switchblade family of loitering munitions, which combine surveillance, target identification and precision strike capabilities. AeroVironment provides related ground control systems, sensors, software, communications equipment, training and support services for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions.

Founded in 1971 by aerospace engineer Paul B.