AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation, eighteen have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $266.6842.

AVAV has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on AeroVironment from $248.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $295.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 26th. Zacks Research raised shares of AeroVironment from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Clear Str upgraded shares of AeroVironment to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $305.00 to $229.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st.

Insider Activity at AeroVironment

In other news, Director Stephen F. Page sold 250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.41, for a total transaction of $43,602.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 49,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,546,264.41. The trade was a 0.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AeroVironment

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 884,395 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $213,956,000 after purchasing an additional 71,903 shares during the last quarter. Heard Capital LLC boosted its position in AeroVironment by 48.4% in the fourth quarter. Heard Capital LLC now owns 722,150 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $174,681,000 after buying an additional 235,685 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in AeroVironment by 17.2% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 504,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $143,692,000 after buying an additional 73,963 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC boosted its position in AeroVironment by 18.8% in the first quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 490,426 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $89,772,000 after buying an additional 77,619 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in AeroVironment by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 477,055 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $135,937,000 after buying an additional 32,721 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

Key AeroVironment News

Here are the key news stories impacting AeroVironment this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AeroVironment won a $117.3 million U.S. Army production contract for 82 P550 drones, adding revenue visibility and validating demand for its tactical autonomous systems. AV Awarded $117.3 Million U.S. Army Production Contract for P550™
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlighted that drone demand is rising and that AeroVironment’s contract wins could help offset the stock’s steep year-to-date decline. AeroVironment’s Stock Is Down, But Drone Demand Is Taking Off
• Neutral Sentiment: Several law firms announced or reminded investors about a securities class action tied to purchases made between June 2025 and March 2026, with a lead-plaintiff deadline of July 27, 2026. These notices add headline noise and uncertainty but do not change operations immediately.
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concerns remain tied to alleged misrepresentations around the SCAR program and single-vendor contract vulnerability, which have triggered analyst downgrades and heavy selling pressure. AVAV Shareholder Alert: July 27, 2026 Lead Plaintiff Deadline in AeroVironment, Inc. Securities Class Action

AeroVironment Stock Performance

Shares of AVAV stock opened at $148.84 on Wednesday. AeroVironment has a 12-month low of $135.20 and a 12-month high of $417.86. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $167.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $215.23. The company has a current ratio of 4.30, a quick ratio of 3.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a market cap of $7.53 billion, a PE ratio of -40.45, a PEG ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 1.39.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, June 29th. The aerospace company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.37. AeroVironment had a positive return on equity of 3.71% and a negative net margin of 9.00%.The firm had revenue of $641.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $555.97 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.61 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 133.3% on a year-over-year basis. AeroVironment has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.020-3.340 EPS. Analysts expect that AeroVironment will post 3.26 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.