AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) Receives $318.78 Average Price Target from Analysts

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation, eighteen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $318.7778.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group reduced their target price on AeroVironment from $259.00 to $236.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Weiss Ratings cut AeroVironment from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen cut AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on AeroVironment in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $320.00 target price for the company. Finally, BTIG Research reduced their target price on AeroVironment from $415.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 12th.

Insider Buying and Selling at AeroVironment

In other AeroVironment news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 879 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.60, for a total transaction of $235,220.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 16,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,394,527.20. This represents a 5.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Brian Charles Shackley sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.52, for a total value of $42,504.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,340.88. The trade was a 3.34% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 2,725 shares of company stock valued at $691,001 over the last quarter. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AeroVironment

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AGP Franklin LLC increased its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 98.8% in the first quarter. AGP Franklin LLC now owns 6,496 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,189,000 after purchasing an additional 3,228 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 14.1% in the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 2,414 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $442,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 36.6% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 22,939 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,199,000 after purchasing an additional 6,152 shares during the last quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 1,867.8% in the first quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC now owns 65,351 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $11,963,000 after purchasing an additional 62,030 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the first quarter valued at approximately $950,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

NASDAQ AVAV opened at $191.42 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -44.11, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.38. AeroVironment has a twelve month low of $141.09 and a twelve month high of $417.86. The company has a current ratio of 5.51, a quick ratio of 4.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $218.26 and a 200 day moving average of $280.41.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last released 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). The business had revenue of $408.05 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $487.94 million. AeroVironment had a positive return on equity of 3.26% and a negative net margin of 13.93%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 143.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.30 EPS. AeroVironment has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.750-3.100 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AeroVironment will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.