AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Upgraded at Zacks Research

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on AVAV. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of AeroVironment from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $391.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $259.00 to $236.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AeroVironment has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $318.78.

AeroVironment Trading Down 7.5%

NASDAQ:AVAV opened at $166.69 on Monday. AeroVironment has a 12-month low of $154.39 and a 12-month high of $417.86. The firm has a market cap of $8.32 billion, a PE ratio of -38.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 5.51, a quick ratio of 4.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $205.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $265.85.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AeroVironment news, Director Stephen F. Page sold 250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 represents a 0.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 16,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,598,638.30. The trade was a 2.41% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 2,975 shares of company stock worth $740,324 over the last 90 days. 0.81% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AVAV. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in AeroVironment by 60.0% during the 3rd quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 80 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its stake in AeroVironment by 100.0% in the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 80 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the third quarter worth about $31,000. 86.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key AeroVironment News

Here are the key news stories impacting AeroVironment this week:

• Positive Sentiment: U.S. Army prototype award for Switchblade® 400 under the LASSO program — validates AVAV’s medium-range loitering-munition as a program-of-record candidate and could lead to follow-on production orders and higher defense revenue over time. U.S. Army Selects AV’s Switchblade 400
• Positive Sentiment: Product expansion and new awards in loitering munitions and counter‑UAS (Halo_Shield) — expands TAM exposure into counter‑drone and infrastructure protection, aligning AVAV with the Pentagon’s increased drone spending. This supports medium-term revenue growth and defense relevance. AeroVironment Expands Loitering Munition
• Positive Sentiment: Macro tailwinds — broader AI/defense spending and a reported provisional patent filing for vision-architecture tech position AVAV in higher-priority defense upgrades, which could improve long-term margins and product differentiation if commercialized. AI Defense Spending Surge
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/coverage notes — AVAV appears in some bullish analyst writeups that highlight competitive advantages, but such pieces can be promotional; treat price targets as one input, not a guarantee. 1 of Wall Street’s Favorite Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary points to the Army deal as a near-term narrative that could stabilize trading, but such headlines often produce short-lived relief rallies rather than sustained moves. MSN: AVAV looks to snap losing streak
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly earnings and revenue missed expectations — the recent quarter showed an EPS shortfall and revenue well below consensus, a direct catalyst for selling as investors price in execution risks despite strong year-over-year revenue growth. Zacks: AVAV Stock Slides
• Negative Sentiment: Technical/flow pressure — heavy intraday volume, a sharp pullback from recent highs and trading below the 50- and 200-day moving averages point to profit-taking and stop-driven selling that can amplify downside near term. No external link

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.