Jefferies Financial Group Cuts AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Price Target to $305.00

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) had its price target cut by Jefferies Financial Group from $390.00 to $305.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of AeroVironment from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $391.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $389.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Monday, January 12th. One equities research 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AeroVironment presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $318.78.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

AVAV opened at $207.07 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 4.29 and a current ratio of 5.51. The company has a market cap of $10.34 billion, a PE ratio of -47.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.26. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $281.00 and a 200-day moving average of $292.20. AeroVironment has a 52-week low of $102.25 and a 52-week high of $417.86.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.55, for a total value of $88,921.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 16,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,598,638.30. This trade represents a 2.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen F. Page sold 250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $75,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 50,001 shares in the company, valued at $15,000,300. This trade represents a 0.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 4,474 shares of company stock valued at $1,390,404. 0.81% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of AeroVironment

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AVAV. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,530,073 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,111,585,000 after purchasing an additional 51,959 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the third quarter valued at about $314,890,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in AeroVironment by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 884,395 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $213,956,000 after buying an additional 71,903 shares in the last quarter. Heard Capital LLC grew its position in AeroVironment by 48.4% during the fourth quarter. Heard Capital LLC now owns 722,150 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $174,681,000 after buying an additional 235,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in 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. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More AeroVironment News

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

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.