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

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) had its price objective trimmed by Jefferies Financial Group from $390.00 to $305.00 in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on AVAV. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $391.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $389.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their target price on AeroVironment from $330.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. One 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 issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $318.78.

AeroVironment Trading Up 2.0%

NASDAQ:AVAV opened at $211.88 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $281.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $292.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -48.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.26. AeroVironment has a 1-year low of $102.25 and a 1-year high of $417.86. The company has a quick ratio of 4.29, a current ratio of 5.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 10th. The aerospace company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.04). AeroVironment had a positive return on equity of 3.26% and a negative net margin of 13.93%.The company had revenue of $408.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $487.94 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. AeroVironment’s quarterly revenue was up 143.4% on a year-over-year basis. AeroVironment has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.750-3.100 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that AeroVironment will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AeroVironment

In other AeroVironment news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 999 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $367.60, for a total value of $367,232.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 17,301 shares in the company, valued at $6,359,847.60. This represents a 5.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Brian Charles Shackley sold 200 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were 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 $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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,474 shares of company stock worth $1,390,404. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in AeroVironment by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 5,091 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,235,000 after purchasing an additional 1,210 shares in the last quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 61.2% during the 4th quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,501 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the 4th quarter valued at about $195,000. MidFirst Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 45.5% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,084 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,472,000 after buying an additional 1,902 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting AeroVironment

Here are the key news stories impacting AeroVironment this week:

• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat and commentators highlight a value entry / technical bottom after the March selloff, noting institutional accumulation and a still‑large backlog that could support a rebound. AeroVironment Touches Down On Value Opportunity
• Positive Sentiment: Several firms kept Buy/Overweight ratings even while trimming price targets, signaling analyst conviction that upside remains once near‑term headwinds clear. Analyst notes (Benzinga)
• Neutral Sentiment: Q3 results showed revenue up ~143% YoY (~$408M) but missed revenue and EPS estimates; FY‑2026 EPS guidance was trimmed to $2.75–$3.10 — strong growth but weaker near‑term visibility. Q3 miss and outlook (Yahoo)
• Neutral Sentiment: Backlog and demand signals remain constructive (record backlog cited), which supports medium‑term revenue prospects if contract timing stabilizes. QuiverQuant earnings/opinion summary
• Negative Sentiment: Contract uncertainty: reports of the Space Force SCAR program stop‑work/possible termination create ~$1.4–1.7B of backlog risk and were a major reason for the recent selloff. SCAR contract uncertainty
• Negative Sentiment: Financing risk: disclosure of a $727M notes issuance raises leverage, tightens covenants and increases liquidity risk — a new material consideration for investors. Notes issuance risk (TipRanks)
• Negative Sentiment: Legal & insider headline risk: Pomerantz launched an investor probe and the CFO disclosed a small sale of shares — both raise short‑term headline noise. Pomerantz investigation (PR Newswire) CFO Form 4
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest data in the feeds looks inconsistent (reported as 0/NaN) — no clear short squeeze signal from the available data. Short interest notes (Benzinga)

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.