AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Shares Down 7% – Here’s What Happened

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)’s stock price dropped 7% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $158.18 and last traded at $157.0320. Approximately 205,988 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 1,622,515 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.86.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AVAV shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $320.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $390.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Zacks Research raised shares of AeroVironment from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of AeroVironment from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AeroVironment presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $318.78.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $7.97 billion, a P/E ratio of -36.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 5.51 and a quick ratio of 4.54. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $196.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $258.98.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 10th. The aerospace company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.04). AeroVironment had a negative net margin of 13.93% and a positive return on equity of 3.26%. The company had revenue of $408.05 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $487.94 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.30 earnings per share. AeroVironment’s revenue for the quarter was up 143.4% compared to the same quarter last year. AeroVironment has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.750-3.100 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.55, for a total transaction of $88,921.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 16,026 shares in the company, valued at $3,598,638.30. The trade was a 2.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Stephen F. Page sold 250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.29, for a total value of $49,322.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 49,501 shares in the company, valued at $9,766,052.29. This trade represents a 0.50% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,096 shares of company stock valued at $505,103. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in AeroVironment in the first quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the 2nd quarter valued at $285,000. American Century Companies Inc. bought a new stake in AeroVironment in the second quarter valued at about $633,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in AeroVironment by 5,200.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 159 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in AeroVironment by 0.4% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 24,188 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,892,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

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.