AeroVironment, Inc. $AVAV Shares Sold by Canal Insurance CO

Canal Insurance CO decreased its stake in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 14.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,000 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 10,000 shares during the quarter. AeroVironment comprises 4.0% of Canal Insurance CO’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Canal Insurance CO owned approximately 0.12% of AeroVironment worth $18,893,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AVAV. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC grew its position in AeroVironment by 60.0% during the third quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 80 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 296.0% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 99 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. RMG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Brian Charles Shackley sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.92, for a total value of $50,184.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,504,014.48. This represents a 3.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.60, for a total value of $367,232.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 17,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,359,847.60. This represents a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 2,223 shares of company stock worth $714,883 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

More AeroVironment News

Here are the key news stories impacting AeroVironment this week:

• Positive Sentiment: U.S. Army contract wins, new partnerships (e.g., Parry Labs) and broader social‑media buzz around defense revenue visibility have lifted investor optimism and helped push the shares sharply higher in recent weeks; institutional accumulation and many buy ratings underpin upside expectations. AeroVironment Stock (AVAV) Opinions on U.S. Army Contract Wins
• Positive Sentiment: AeroVironment’s subsidiary VideoRay launched the Mission Specialist Wraith unmanned underwater vehicle — a new product that expands the company’s all‑domain autonomous systems offering and can open additional government and commercial revenue streams. Mission Specialist Wraith Signals AeroVironment’s Next Step in Compact Unmanned Underwater Systems Capability
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage and upward price targets (median ~$391, several high targets above $400) plus strong quarterly revenue growth have supported momentum — recent writeups note a ~55% one‑month surge as investors price in defense spending tailwinds. AVAV Outperforms Industry in the Past Month: How to Play the Stock?
• Neutral Sentiment: Headline coverage noting recent outperformance and a modest daily gain (+1.6% on Jan. 12) highlights the stock’s short‑term strength but is not new fundamental news. AeroVironment (AVAV) Outperforms Broader Market: What You Need to Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Contrarian commentary (e.g., Motley Fool piece recommending another drone stock ahead of AVAV) may temper some retail enthusiasm but is not a direct company development. 1 Stock I’d Buy Before AeroVironment in 2026
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP says it is investigating claims on behalf of AeroVironment investors — a potential class‑action probe that raises legal/financial risk and can weigh on sentiment until resolved. INVESTOR ALERT: Pomerantz Law Firm Investigates Claims On Behalf of Investors of Aerovironment, Inc. – AVAV
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling continues to appear in filings — most recently CFO Kevin McDonnell sold 999 shares at ~$367.60 — and publicized recurring insider sales can fuel profit‑taking or worry some investors about timing. SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest rose in December to roughly 3.14M shares (≈6.3% of float) — elevated shorting can increase downward pressure in the near term, though it also raises the potential for squeezes during volatility.

AeroVironment Stock Down 1.8%

AVAV stock opened at $363.86 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 5.08, a quick ratio of 4.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $282.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $287.79. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 12 month low of $102.25 and a 12 month high of $417.86. The company has a market cap of $18.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -291.09, a PEG ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 1.16.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 9th. The aerospace company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.43). AeroVironment had a positive return on equity of 3.42% and a negative net margin of 5.08%.The company had revenue of $472.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $466.16 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 150.7% on a year-over-year basis. AeroVironment has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.400-3.550 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AVAV. JMP Securities increased their price target on AeroVironment from $325.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. KeyCorp set a $285.00 target price on AeroVironment in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on AeroVironment from $440.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 8th. New Street Research set a $365.00 price target on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AeroVironment to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $375.41.

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.