AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Shares Down 2.3% Following Analyst Downgrade

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)’s share price traded down 2.3% during trading on Friday after Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on the stock from $390.00 to $305.00. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. AeroVironment traded as low as $206.64 and last traded at $207.07. 1,364,891 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 32% from the average session volume of 1,998,112 shares. The stock had previously closed at $211.88.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on AVAV. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $389.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. BTIG Research dropped their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $415.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $335.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $259.00 to $236.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $318.78.

Insider Transactions at AeroVironment

In related news, CAO Brian Charles Shackley sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,504,014.48. The trade was a 3.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 999 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.60, for a total transaction of $367,232.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 17,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,359,847.60. This represents a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 4,474 shares of company stock valued at $1,390,404 over the last quarter. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Trending Headlines about AeroVironment

Here are the key news stories impacting AeroVironment this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Underlying demand/backlog: Q3 revenue rose ~143% YoY and the company still reports a multi‑hundred‑million to billion‑level backlog that supports longer‑term revenue — a constructive backdrop if execution and contract timing normalize. Q3 revenue and backlog discussion
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains: despite trimming targets, many firms (BTIG, Jefferies, Canaccord and others) kept Buy/Outperform ratings, signalling expectations of mid/long‑term upside if AeroVironment regains program visibility and scales production. Analyst note summary (Benzinga)
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings and guidance: Q3 results beat on some metrics (strong YoY revenue growth) but missed consensus on revenue and EPS; management set FY‑2026 EPS guidance of $2.75–$3.10, below street expectations — creates uncertainty but also sets clearer, more conservative targets. Q3 miss and guidance
• Neutral Sentiment: Price‑target downgrades but ratings mixed: several shops cut targets (KeyBanc, Canaccord, BTIG, Jefferies) while mostly keeping Buy/Outperform stances — implies recalibrated expectations rather than broad conviction shift. KeyCorp target cut Canaccord note
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest reporting in feeds shows anomalous/zero values (likely data error); no clear short squeeze signal from those items. Short interest entries (data anomaly)
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: shares plunged after the Q3 miss and the outlook cut as investors punished reduced near‑term visibility and growth assumptions. Shares fall on Q3 miss
• Negative Sentiment: Contract risk: reports of SCAR/Space Force contract termination or timing disruptions remove material unfunded backlog (reports cite ~$1.4–1.7B), increasing near‑term revenue uncertainty and pressuring sentiment. SCAR contract and backlog risk
• Negative Sentiment: Financing/leverage risk: disclosure of a $727M notes issuance tightens covenants and raises leverage/liquidity risk — an added structural concern for investors already focused on visibility. Notes issuance risk
• Negative Sentiment: Headline/legal/insider risk: Pomerantz launched an investor probe and the CFO disclosed small share sales — both increase short‑term headline risk and may amplify volatility. Pomerantz investigation CFO Form 4

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in AeroVironment by 60.0% in the 3rd quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 80 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

AeroVironment Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $281.00 and a 200-day moving average of $291.88. The stock has a market cap of $10.34 billion, a PE ratio of -47.71, a PEG ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 5.51 and a quick ratio of 4.29.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted 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). AeroVironment had a positive return on equity of 3.26% and a negative net margin of 13.93%.The business had revenue of $408.05 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $487.94 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 143.4% compared to the same quarter last year. AeroVironment has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.750-3.100 EPS. Research analysts predict that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

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.