AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) Short Interest Up 20.3% in March

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 4,617,063 shares, an increase of 20.3% from the March 15th total of 3,838,211 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,399,138 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days. Approximately 9.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AVAV shares. KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $330.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. BTIG Research reduced their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $415.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $391.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $390.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $318.78.

AeroVironment Trading Down 5.2%

Shares of AeroVironment stock opened at $191.42 on Friday. AeroVironment has a 52-week low of $141.09 and a 52-week high of $417.86. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $218.26 and a 200-day moving average of $280.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 4.54 and a current ratio of 5.51. The stock has a market cap of $9.56 billion, a PE ratio of -44.11, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.38.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $408.05 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $487.94 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. 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. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AeroVironment will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AeroVironment news, Director Stephen F. Page sold 500 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.95, for a total transaction of $127,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 50,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,875,229.95. The trade was a 0.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Brian Charles Shackley sold 200 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.52, for a total transaction of $42,504.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,340.88. This trade represents a 3.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 2,725 shares of company stock valued at $691,001 over the last ninety days. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AeroVironment

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC lifted 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 worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in AeroVironment during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in AeroVironment during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new stake in AeroVironment during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

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.