Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 39,834 Shares of AeroVironment, Inc. $AVAV

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 437,221 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 39,834 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.88% of AeroVironment worth $137,677,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of AeroVironment by 60.1% in the third quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 4,649 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,464,000 after purchasing an additional 1,745 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its holdings in AeroVironment by 65.6% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,018 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,470,000 after buying an additional 4,365 shares during the last quarter. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in AeroVironment in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $58,000. Financial Sense Advisors Inc. increased its position in AeroVironment by 64.7% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Sense Advisors Inc. now owns 2,800 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $882,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Finally, Equitable Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the third quarter worth approximately $1,518,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

AeroVironment News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting AeroVironment this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AeroVironment completed its acquisition of Empirical Systems Aerospace (ESAero) in a roughly $200M cash-and-stock deal — expanding UAS/AAM product lines, engineering depth, electric/hybrid propulsion capabilities and AS9100-certified manufacturing capacity, which should help scale production and defense program wins. Drone-maker AeroVironment buys aerospace engineering firm ESAero in $200 million deal
• Positive Sentiment: Mainstream media exposure for AVAV’s directed-energy / laser defense technology (CBS 60 Minutes) has renewed investor interest and visibility into product-market fit for counter-UAS missions; outlets note backlog strength and growing demand. AeroVironment Shows Lasers To Take Out Iran’s Drones. The Stock Is Rising.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and trade commentary highlight the company preparing for high-volume deployment of systems — supportive for revenue scaling if production ramps proceed as planned. AeroVironment Mobilizes For High-Volume Deployment
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest figures are effectively zero in recent data snapshots (days-to-cover ~0), which appears non-informative and unlikely to drive immediate pressure or squeezes.
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry and long-term outlook pieces debate whether AVAV is a durable defense growth play or a risky, execution-dependent name — useful context but not an immediate catalyst. Is AVAV Stock a Long-Term Defense Play or a Risky Bet?
• Negative Sentiment: BTIG trimmed AVAV’s price target (from $415 to $330) while keeping a Buy rating after the company’s most recent quarter — a sign analysts are tempering upside expectations and valuation support. BTIG Cuts AeroVironment, Inc. (AVAV)’s Price Target To $330, Maintains Buy Rating
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts issued downgrades/price-target pressure following the quarter that missed EPS and revenue expectations; that remains a near-term headwind until clearer execution on margin expansion and revenue cadence is shown. AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Shares Down 2.3% After Analyst Downgrade

Insider Buying and Selling at AeroVironment

In other AeroVironment news, Director Stephen F. Page sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,258,997.62. This represents a 1.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Brian Charles Shackley sold 200 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,504,014.48. The trade was a 3.23% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 4,474 shares of company stock valued at $1,390,404. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $330.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $390.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $320.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on AeroVironment from $486.00 to $429.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on AeroVironment from $325.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AeroVironment has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $318.78.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AVAV opened at $211.88 on Tuesday. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 12-month low of $102.25 and a 12-month high of $417.86. The company has a quick ratio of 4.54, a current ratio of 5.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.58 billion, a PE ratio of -48.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $279.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $292.26.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last released 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $487.94 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.30 earnings per share. The firm’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 anticipate that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.