Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Here's Why AeroVironment (AVAV) Fell More Than Broader Market

Read MoreHide Full Article

AeroVironment (AVAV - Free Report) ended the recent trading session at $283.66, demonstrating a -2.59% change from the preceding day's closing price. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.92%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw a downswing of 1.18%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq depreciated by 0.84%.

Heading into today, shares of the maker of unmanned aircrafts had lost 16.94% over the past month, lagging the Aerospace sector's loss of 3.28% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.48%.

The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of AeroVironment in its upcoming release. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $0.87, reflecting a 85.11% increase from the same quarter last year. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $480.86 million, indicating a 155.15% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $3.63 per share and revenue of $2.01 billion, which would represent changes of +10.67% and +145.48%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for AeroVironment. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the business and profitability.

Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, there's been no change in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. At present, AeroVironment boasts a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell).

Looking at its valuation, AeroVironment is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 80.17. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 34.45, so one might conclude that AeroVironment is trading at a premium comparatively.

One should further note that AVAV currently holds a PEG ratio of 4.11. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. The average PEG ratio for the Aerospace - Defense Equipment industry stood at 2.37 at the close of the market yesterday.

The Aerospace - Defense Equipment industry is part of the Aerospace sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 162, finds itself in the bottom 35% echelons of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


AeroVironment, Inc. (AVAV) - free report >>

Published in