AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Trading 9.9% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) shares rose 9.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on the stock from $300.00 to $333.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. AeroVironment traded as high as $346.24 and last traded at $346.08. Approximately 2,046,433 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 132% from the average daily volume of 880,487 shares. The stock had previously closed at $314.89.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Citizens Jmp started coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Monday, August 4th. They set a “strong-buy” rating and a $325.00 price objective on the stock. New Street Research set a $365.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $333.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AeroVironment news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 17,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.05, for a total transaction of $4,550,765.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 122,233 shares in the company, valued at $32,153,390.65. This trade represents a 12.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AeroVironment

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 41.0% in the 1st quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 763,489 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $91,000,000 after acquiring an additional 221,948 shares in the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 35.4% in the first quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 17,873 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,130,000 after purchasing an additional 4,669 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR boosted its holdings in AeroVironment by 94.8% during the 1st quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 4,415 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $526,000 after acquiring an additional 2,148 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. bought a new stake in AeroVironment in the 1st quarter worth about $1,142,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of AeroVironment by 2.3% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 139,835 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $16,667,000 after acquiring an additional 3,183 shares during the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AeroVironment Stock Up 4.1%

The company has a market capitalization of $17.99 billion, a P/E ratio of -562.93, a PEG ratio of 5.87 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 5.12 and a current ratio of 5.96. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $262.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $208.69.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, September 9th. The aerospace company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $454.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $446.16 million. AeroVironment had a positive return on equity of 4.67% and a negative net margin of 4.14%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 140.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. AeroVironment has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.600-3.70 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About AeroVironment

AeroVironment, Inc designs, develops, produces, delivers, and supports a portfolio of robotic systems and related services for government agencies and businesses in the United States and internationally. It operates through Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (SUAS), Tactical Missile System (TMS), Medium Unmanned Aircraft Systems (MUAS), and High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite Systems (HAPS) segments.