UBS Group Cuts AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Price Target to $236.00

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) had its price target cut by UBS Group from $259.00 to $236.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on AVAV. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on AeroVironment from $375.00 to $325.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Piper Sandler cut their target price on AeroVironment from $391.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Citizens Jmp reduced their target price on AeroVironment from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on AeroVironment in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $355.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded AeroVironment from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $318.78.

AeroVironment Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AVAV opened at $207.07 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $10.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -47.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 5.51, a quick ratio of 4.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. AeroVironment has a 1-year low of $102.25 and a 1-year high of $417.86. The business’s 50 day moving average is $281.00 and its 200-day moving average is $291.88.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 negative net margin of 13.93% and a positive return on equity of 3.26%. The firm had revenue of $408.05 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $487.94 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. The business’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. Equities research analysts predict that AeroVironment will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Stephen F. Page sold 250 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $75,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 50,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,000,300. This trade represents a 0.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Brian Charles Shackley sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.92, for a total value of $50,184.00. Following the transaction, 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. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 4,474 shares of company stock worth $1,390,404 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new position in AeroVironment during the third quarter worth about $314,890,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 14.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,478,114 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $991,089,000 after acquiring an additional 433,830 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $94,655,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 24,798.7% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 315,716 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $99,416,000 after purchasing an additional 314,448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 75.6% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 609,019 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $173,540,000 after purchasing an additional 262,239 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about AeroVironment

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.