AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Given New $290.00 Price Target at Piper Sandler

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) had its price objective trimmed by Piper Sandler from $391.00 to $290.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on AVAV. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $400.00 price target on AeroVironment in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $350.00 to $260.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $259.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $348.33.

AeroVironment Trading Up 9.6%

Shares of AeroVironment stock opened at $228.30 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $11.40 billion, a PE ratio of -182.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $286.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $293.73. AeroVironment has a 1 year low of $102.25 and a 1 year high of $417.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 5.08 and a quick ratio of 4.29.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AeroVironment news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 999 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $367.60, for a total transaction of $367,232.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 17,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,359,847.60. This trade represents a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Brian Charles Shackley sold 200 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.92, for a total transaction of $50,184.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,504,014.48. This trade represents a 3.23% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,589 shares of company stock worth $1,428,910. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AeroVironment

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of AeroVironment by 1.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,530,073 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,111,585,000 after acquiring an additional 51,959 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new position in AeroVironment in the 3rd quarter valued at $314,890,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in AeroVironment by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 884,395 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $213,956,000 after purchasing an additional 71,903 shares in the last quarter. Heard Capital LLC boosted its stake in AeroVironment by 48.4% during the 4th quarter. Heard Capital LLC now owns 722,150 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $174,681,000 after purchasing an additional 235,685 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 17.4% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 686,273 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $216,101,000 after buying an additional 101,713 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about AeroVironment

Here are the key news stories impacting AeroVironment this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company statement says it is in active negotiations with the U.S. Space Force on a contract amendment tied to the SCAR ground-station program — an outcome that could preserve a major revenue stream. AV Issues Statement Regarding Active Negotiations for Contract Amendment
• Positive Sentiment: Defense-sector tailwinds and heightened geopolitical tensions (Middle East) have lifted peer stocks and boosted demand expectations for AeroVironment’s drones and tactical systems. That macro support is a likely contributor to today’s uplift. Why Is AeroVironment Stock Soaring Tuesday?
• Positive Sentiment: Underlying business momentum remains strong: recent commentary and filings point to very high revenue growth and record contract awards (management previously reported $3.5B in contract wins and major Y/Y revenue gains), which supports upside if margins and EPS recover. Defense Stocks Are Soaring—AeroVironment’s Earnings Could Close the Gap
• Neutral Sentiment: Several firms trimmed price targets (Royal Bank of Canada, Baird, Piper Sandler) but left bullish ratings in place — mixed signal: analysts trimmed near-term expectations while still showing meaningful upside. RBC cuts price target on AeroVironment
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data in public feeds showed odd/zero figures for early March (likely a data glitch); it doesn’t appear to explain the moves. (Monitor official exchange/CBOE short-interest releases for confirmation.)
• Negative Sentiment: Raymond James downgraded AVAV to Underperform, citing increased risk after the Space Force said it would broaden suppliers and open a rebid for mobile ground stations — that triggered a sharp selloff earlier in the week. Raymond James Downgrades AeroVironment
• Negative Sentiment: Director Stephen F. Page sold 250 shares recently (Form 4 filed), a small insider sale but typically watched by investors during volatile periods. SEC Form 4 (Page sale)
• Negative Sentiment: Market volatility around the Space Force rebid and analyst downgrades increases near-term execution risk — keep an eye on the company’s upcoming earnings and any formal award/contract updates for SCAR. AeroVironment Tumbles 17% as Space Force Eyes More Mobile Ground Suppliers

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.