Citizens Jmp Reaffirms “Market Outperform” Rating for AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV)

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV)‘s stock had its “market outperform” rating reaffirmed by Citizens Jmp in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $230.00 price target on the aerospace company’s stock. Citizens Jmp’s target price suggests a potential upside of 47.35% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on AVAV. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Friday, September 4th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Thursday. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James Financial upgraded AeroVironment from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $305.00 to $229.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $249.89.

AeroVironment Trading Up 10.9%

Shares of AVAV stock traded up $15.29 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $156.09. The stock had a trading volume of 5,247,041 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,640,896. AeroVironment has a 52-week low of $135.20 and a 52-week high of $417.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.93 billion, a PE ratio of -42.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.15 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 4.30, a quick ratio of 3.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $159.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $179.83.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 9th. The aerospace company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $480.49 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $451.95 million. AeroVironment had a negative net margin of 9.00% and a positive return on equity of 3.71%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.32 earnings per share. AeroVironment has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.020-3.340 EPS. Equities analysts expect that AeroVironment will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Stephen Page sold 250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.41, for a total value of $43,602.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 49,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,546,264.41. The trade was a 0.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Brian Shackley sold 205 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.86, for a total transaction of $41,381.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,592,271.68. The trade was a 2.53% 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 705 shares of company stock valued at $132,979. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of AeroVironment by 16,307.2% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 6,215,051 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,025,918,000 after buying an additional 6,177,171 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in AeroVironment in the second quarter valued at about $574,566,000. American Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in AeroVironment in the second quarter valued at approximately $69,745,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the 2nd quarter valued at about $67,549,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in AeroVironment in the 4th quarter worth approximately $94,655,000. Institutional investors own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about AeroVironment

Here are the key news stories impacting AeroVironment this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AeroVironment reported adjusted earnings of $0.59 per share, well above the roughly $0.22 consensus estimate, while revenue of $480.5 million exceeded expectations and rose 5.7% year over year. AeroVironment Announces Fiscal 2027 First Quarter Results
• Positive Sentiment: Record funded backlog reached $1.5 billion, up 37% year over year, supported by $700 million of bookings and a 1.4 book-to-bill ratio. Management said fiscal 2027 is off to a strong start and expects a second-half ramp-up as capacity investments support production.
• Positive Sentiment: The company received its first international commercial order for the LOCUST laser weapon system, valued at more than $50 million. Management indicated that directed-energy systems could become a major franchise alongside its existing drone businesses. AV Secures First International Order for LOCUST Directed Energy Counter-Drone Systems
• Positive Sentiment: AeroVironment maintained its fiscal 2027 outlook, including adjusted EPS guidance of $3.02 to $3.34. JPMorgan raised its price target to $210 and retained an Overweight rating, while Needham and BTIG reiterated Buy ratings with targets of $225 and $205, respectively.
• Neutral Sentiment: The earnings beat was partly offset by the need to execute on the anticipated back-half revenue ramp. The company’s revenue outlook was broadly in line with expectations, rather than materially above them.
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the adjusted-profit beat, AeroVironment recorded a GAAP net loss, and valuation and execution concerns remain after the stock’s steep prior decline. A law firm has also announced an investigation into the company’s board for potential fiduciary-duty breaches, adding a legal overhang.

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.