Shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV – Get Free Report) rose 4.6% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $156.14 and last traded at $153.40. 3,038,234 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 80% from the average daily volume of 1,688,054 shares. The stock had previously closed at $146.71.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several brokerages recently weighed in on AVAV. Jefferies Financial Group set a $204.00 price target on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Wednesday. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Wolfe Research lowered AeroVironment to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on AeroVironment from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $246.47.
Read Our Latest Analysis on AVAV
AeroVironment Price Performance
AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 9th. The aerospace company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $480.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $451.95 million. AeroVironment had a positive return on equity of 4.04% and a negative net margin of 5.77%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.32 EPS. AeroVironment has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.020-3.340 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current year.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other AeroVironment news, Director Stephen Page sold 250 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.98, for a total value of $47,995.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 48,503 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,311,605.94. The trade was a 0.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Brian Shackley sold 205 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.86, for a total value of $41,381.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 7,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,592,271.68. This 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. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On AeroVironment
A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the second quarter valued at about $574,566,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 884,395 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $213,956,000 after acquiring an additional 71,903 shares during the period. Heard Capital LLC raised its position in AeroVironment by 48.4% in the fourth quarter. Heard Capital LLC now owns 722,150 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $174,681,000 after purchasing an additional 235,685 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 18.8% in 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 buying an additional 77,619 shares during the period. Finally, American Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in AeroVironment during the second quarter worth about $69,745,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.38% of the company’s stock.
AeroVironment Company Profile
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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