AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Hits New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday. The company traded as low as $134.51 and last traded at $134.7830, with a volume of 807310 shares. The stock had previously closed at $143.54.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AVAV shares. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered AeroVironment from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Friday, September 18th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $225.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AeroVironment has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $228.37.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $6.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -58.63, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 4.26, a quick ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $157.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.05.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, September 9th. The aerospace company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $480.49 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $451.95 million. AeroVironment had a negative net margin of 5.77% and a positive return on equity of 4.04%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.32 EPS. AeroVironment has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.020-3.340 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in AeroVironment in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. MidFirst Bank bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 195.0% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 177 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

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.