AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Releases FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided EPS guidance of 3.400-3.550 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 3.620. The company issued revenue guidance of $2.0 billion-$2.0 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $2.0 billion.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AVAV. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Bank of America initiated coverage on AeroVironment in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. New Street Research set a $365.00 price target on AeroVironment in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $355.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JMP Securities raised their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $325.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $362.56.

AeroVironment Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ AVAV traded down $1.05 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $281.42. The company had a trading volume of 2,159,292 shares, compared to its average volume of 898,306. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 5.12 and a current ratio of 5.96. The company has a market capitalization of $14.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -439.71, a PEG ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $335.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $273.37. AeroVironment has a 12-month low of $102.25 and a 12-month high of $417.86.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 9th. The aerospace company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.12. AeroVironment had a negative net margin of 4.14% and a positive return on equity of 4.67%. The business had revenue of $472.51 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $466.16 million. AeroVironment has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.400-3.550 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AeroVironment will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 998 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $399.74, for a total value of $398,940.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 19,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,724,575.76. This represents a 4.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Trace E. Stevenson sold 1,717 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $381.00, for a total transaction of $654,177.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 4,907 shares in the company, valued at $1,869,567. This trade represents a 25.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 3,228 shares of company stock worth $1,223,157 over the last quarter. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 3,880.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 206,607 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $65,058,000 after buying an additional 201,417 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in AeroVironment by 2,668.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 148,927 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $46,896,000 after acquiring an additional 154,726 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in AeroVironment by 30.7% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 380,899 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $119,941,000 after purchasing an additional 89,503 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in AeroVironment by 17.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 504,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $143,692,000 after purchasing an additional 73,963 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in AeroVironment in the third quarter worth $15,849,000. 86.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About AeroVironment

AeroVironment, Inc designs, develops, produces, delivers, and supports a portfolio of robotic systems and related services for government agencies and businesses in the United States and internationally. It operates through Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (SUAS), Tactical Missile System (TMS), Medium Unmanned Aircraft Systems (MUAS), and High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite Systems (HAPS) segments.