AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Shares Down 4% – Here’s What Happened

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)’s share price traded down 4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $175.42 and last traded at $176.97. 1,167,084 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 38% from the average session volume of 1,890,370 shares. The stock had previously closed at $184.43.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AVAV shares. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $330.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Citizens Jmp decreased their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on AeroVironment from $391.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Zacks Research cut AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on AeroVironment from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. One investment 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $318.78.

AeroVironment Stock Down 4.0%

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $251.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $290.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -40.78, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 5.51, a quick ratio of 4.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 10th. The aerospace company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.04). AeroVironment had a positive return on equity of 3.26% and a negative net margin of 13.93%.The business had revenue of $408.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $487.94 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 143.4% on a year-over-year basis. AeroVironment has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.750-3.100 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AeroVironment

In related news, CAO Brian Charles Shackley sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.52, for a total transaction of $42,504.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 5,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,340.88. This trade represents a 3.34% 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 396 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.55, for a total value of $88,921.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 16,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,598,638.30. This represents a 2.41% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 4,924 shares of company stock worth $1,486,038. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AVAV. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the 3rd quarter worth $314,890,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the fourth quarter worth about $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. 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. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its position in AeroVironment by 22,773.4% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 261,214 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $63,185,000 after purchasing an additional 260,072 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

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.