AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Trading Down 5.8% – Time to Sell?

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) was down 5.8% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $149.33 and last traded at $149.51. Approximately 1,107,780 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 34% from the average session volume of 1,677,850 shares. The stock had previously closed at $158.73.

Key AeroVironment News

Here are the key news stories impacting AeroVironment this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Several law firms reiterated the approaching July 27 lead-plaintiff deadline in the AVAV securities class action, keeping AeroVironment in the news and highlighting ongoing legal overhang. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also saw another round of short-interest commentary, but the filing reported zero shares short, so it does not appear to add meaningful new pressure. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: AeroVironment recently scored a new Army contract, and investors have also been encouraged by strong defense-program momentum, which supports the long-term revenue outlook even as the stock trades lower near term. Article Title

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AVAV. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 5th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Citizens Jmp decreased their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $350.00 to $230.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $280.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $266.68.

AeroVironment Trading Down 5.8%

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $166.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $213.45. The stock has a market cap of $7.57 billion, a PE ratio of -40.63, a PEG ratio of 5.08 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 4.30, a quick ratio of 3.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, June 29th. The aerospace company reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $641.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $555.97 million. AeroVironment had a positive return on equity of 3.71% and a negative net margin of 9.00%.AeroVironment’s revenue was up 133.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.61 earnings per share. AeroVironment has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.020-3.340 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AeroVironment news, Director Stephen F. Page sold 250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.41, for a total value of $43,602.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 49,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,546,264.41. The trade was a 0.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in AeroVironment by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 884,395 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $213,956,000 after purchasing an additional 71,903 shares in the last quarter. Heard Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 48.4% in the 4th quarter. Heard Capital LLC now owns 722,150 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $174,681,000 after purchasing an additional 235,685 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of AeroVironment by 17.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 504,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $143,692,000 after purchasing an additional 73,963 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of AeroVironment by 18.8% during the 1st quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 490,426 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $89,772,000 after purchasing an additional 77,619 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 477,055 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $135,937,000 after buying an additional 32,721 shares in the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AeroVironment Company Profile

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.