AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Stock Price Down 3.2% – Here’s Why
by Tristan Rich · The Markets DailyAeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV – Get Free Report)’s share price fell 3.2% on Monday. The stock traded as low as $147.02 and last traded at $147.23. 1,087,769 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 35% from the average session volume of 1,677,786 shares. The stock had previously closed at $152.05.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of equities analysts recently commented on AVAV shares. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded AeroVironment from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $210.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Bank of America lowered their price target 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. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on AeroVironment from $315.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Two investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AeroVironment has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $238.89.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on AVAV
AeroVironment Stock Performance
The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $158.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $172.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.48 billion, a PE ratio of -62.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 4.26 and a quick ratio of 3.33.
AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, September 9th. The aerospace company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.37. AeroVironment had a negative net margin of 5.77% and a positive return on equity of 4.04%. The business had revenue of $480.49 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $451.95 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. The firm’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. Research analysts anticipate that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Insider Activity
In other AeroVironment news, Director Stephen F. Page sold 250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director owned 48,253 shares in the company, valued at $7,347,484.31. This represents a 0.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.86, for a total transaction of $41,381.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,888 shares in the company, valued at $1,592,271.68. This trade 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 805 shares of company stock valued at $142,671. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Trading of AeroVironment
A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in AeroVironment during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its holdings in AeroVironment by 90.0% during the fourth quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 133 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Toth Financial Advisory Corp acquired a new stake in AeroVironment in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 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 produces unmanned aircraft systems, loitering munitions, counter-unmanned aircraft systems and related robotic technologies. Its products are designed for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, precision strike, force protection and tactical communications applications.
The company’s portfolio includes the Raven, Puma and Wasp small unmanned aircraft systems; the JUMP 20 vertical takeoff and landing aircraft; and the Switchblade family of loitering munitions.
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