Needham & Company LLC Has Lowered Expectations for AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Stock Price

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) had its price target reduced by analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $450.00 to $400.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the aerospace company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price points to a potential upside of 88.79% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on AVAV. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on AeroVironment in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $320.00 price target for the company. KeyCorp raised their price objective on AeroVironment from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on AeroVironment from $391.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $318.78.

AeroVironment Price Performance

AVAV opened at $211.88 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $281.98 and a 200 day moving average of $292.12. The stock has a market cap of $10.58 billion, a P/E ratio of -48.82, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 4.29, a current ratio of 5.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. AeroVironment has a 52-week low of $102.25 and a 52-week high of $417.86.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 10th. The aerospace company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $408.05 million during 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%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 143.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.30 EPS. AeroVironment has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.750-3.100 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AeroVironment will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AeroVironment news, CAO Brian Charles Shackley sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.92, for a total value of $50,184.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,504,014.48. This trade represents a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen F. Page sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.62, for a total transaction of $377,620.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 51,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,258,997.62. This represents a 1.92% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 4,474 shares of company stock worth $1,390,404 in the last ninety days. 0.81% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AeroVironment

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Tema Etfs LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its holdings in AeroVironment by 100.0% during the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 80 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

More AeroVironment News

Here are the key news stories impacting AeroVironment this week:

• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat and commentators highlight a value entry / technical bottom after the March selloff, noting institutional accumulation and a still‑large backlog that could support a rebound. AeroVironment Touches Down On Value Opportunity
• Positive Sentiment: Several firms kept Buy/Overweight ratings even while trimming price targets, signaling analyst conviction that upside remains once near‑term headwinds clear. Analyst notes (Benzinga)
• Neutral Sentiment: Q3 results showed revenue up ~143% YoY (~$408M) but missed revenue and EPS estimates; FY‑2026 EPS guidance was trimmed to $2.75–$3.10 — strong growth but weaker near‑term visibility. Q3 miss and outlook (Yahoo)
• Neutral Sentiment: Backlog and demand signals remain constructive (record backlog cited), which supports medium‑term revenue prospects if contract timing stabilizes. QuiverQuant earnings/opinion summary
• Negative Sentiment: Contract uncertainty: reports of the Space Force SCAR program stop‑work/possible termination create ~$1.4–1.7B of backlog risk and were a major reason for the recent selloff. SCAR contract uncertainty
• Negative Sentiment: Financing risk: disclosure of a $727M notes issuance raises leverage, tightens covenants and increases liquidity risk — a new material consideration for investors. Notes issuance risk (TipRanks)
• Negative Sentiment: Legal & insider headline risk: Pomerantz launched an investor probe and the CFO disclosed a small sale of shares — both raise short‑term headline noise. Pomerantz investigation (PR Newswire) CFO Form 4
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest data in the feeds looks inconsistent (reported as 0/NaN) — no clear short squeeze signal from the available data. Short interest notes (Benzinga)

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.