ARK Investment Management LLC Raises Holdings in AeroVironment, Inc. $AVAV

ARK Investment Management LLC raised its stake in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 28.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 400,457 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 89,697 shares during the quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC owned about 0.80% of AeroVironment worth $126,100,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 14.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,478,114 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $991,089,000 after buying an additional 433,830 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in AeroVironment during the 2nd quarter valued at about $75,690,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in AeroVironment by 75.6% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 609,019 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $173,540,000 after acquiring an additional 262,239 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in AeroVironment by 550.7% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 178,204 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $56,115,000 after purchasing an additional 150,819 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in AeroVironment by 54.0% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 398,772 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $113,630,000 after purchasing an additional 139,880 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

Key AeroVironment News

Here are the key news stories impacting AeroVironment this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company announced a planned domestic manufacturing expansion (~$30M) to scale production — investors view this as a capacity and revenue-growth signal. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating (high target), providing analyst support that cushions downside and signals confidence in the longer-term story. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Company says it is in active negotiations with the U.S. Space Force on the SCAR contract amendment — management’s constructive update helped calm some investor concerns that had driven earlier selling. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Canaccord cut its price target (from $400 to $330) but kept a Buy — reflects confidence in long-term demand while flagging specific near-term program risk. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple brokers trimmed price targets (RBC, Baird, Piper) but many retained Outperform/Overweight ratings — analysts are moderating near-term upside while still acknowledging upside longer term. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: AeroVironment will present at the J.P. Morgan Industrials Conference (management fireside chat) — provides direct investor access and could move the stock if management gives new color on SCAR, margins or bookings. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Raymond James downgraded AVAV to Underperform and commentary around the SCAR re‑competition triggered a heavy selloff earlier in the week — the downgrade amplified downside volatility. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Space Force reopened bidding on mobile ground suppliers for the ~$1.4B SCAR program (recompete/rebid), creating contract-execution uncertainty that was the main driver of a ~15–17% one‑day drop earlier. This remains the principal near-term downside catalyst. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: a director sold 250 shares (small economically but negative in optics) — highlighted in filings and media coverage. Read More.

Insider Transactions at AeroVironment

In other AeroVironment news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 879 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.60, for a total value of $235,220.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 16,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,394,527.20. The trade was a 5.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Brian Charles Shackley sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.92, for a total transaction of $50,184.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,994 shares in the company, valued at $1,504,014.48. The trade was a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,589 shares of company stock worth $1,428,910. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $400.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $486.00 to $429.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on AeroVironment from $335.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on AeroVironment from $350.00 to $260.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on AeroVironment from $375.00 to $325.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $348.33.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

Shares of AeroVironment stock opened at $226.48 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.29, a current ratio of 5.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 52 week low of $102.25 and a 52 week high of $417.86. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $285.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $293.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -181.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.26.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, December 9th. The aerospace company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.43). AeroVironment had a negative net margin of 5.08% and a positive return on equity of 3.42%. The company had revenue of $472.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $466.16 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.47 EPS. The company’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. Research analysts forecast that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AeroVironment 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.