AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Trading Up 14.1% – Still a Buy?

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) traded up 14.1% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $198.96 and last traded at $196.7750. 977,668 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 41% from the average daily volume of 1,646,891 shares. The stock had previously closed at $172.44.

AeroVironment News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting AeroVironment this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AeroVironment reported blockbuster fiscal Q4 results, with revenue and earnings both beating estimates and revenue jumping sharply year over year, reinforcing the strength of demand for its drone and autonomous systems business.
• Positive Sentiment: The company received a $500 million U.S. Army/Department of Defense contract for counter-unmanned aerial systems, a meaningful win that supports future backlog and revenue visibility.
• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush reportedly upgraded AVAV to “strong-buy,” adding to bullish sentiment around AeroVironment’s position in defense tech and the broader drone boom.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles highlighted geopolitical tailwinds from the Russia-Ukraine war and rising global defense spending, which may continue to support AeroVironment’s long-term growth narrative.
• Negative Sentiment: Law firms including Schall, Pomerantz, Rosen, and others announced or promoted class-action lawsuits tied to the period from June 25, 2025 through March 10, 2026, creating potential legal and reputational risk for shareholders.
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage noted concerns about profit outlook and integration-related weaknesses, suggesting that despite the strong quarter, the stock may face volatility if expectations become too elevated.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AVAV. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $172.00 to $166.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial raised shares of AeroVironment from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $295.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $250.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AeroVironment has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $277.37.

AeroVironment Trading Up 13.1%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $175.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $224.09. The company has a market capitalization of $9.87 billion, a PE ratio of -52.49, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 5.51, a quick ratio of 4.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last issued its earnings results on Monday, June 29th. The aerospace company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.37. AeroVironment had a positive return on equity of 3.72% and a negative net margin of 9.00%.The business had revenue of $641.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $555.97 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.61 earnings per share. AeroVironment’s revenue for the quarter was up 133.3% on a year-over-year basis. AeroVironment has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.020-3.340 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AeroVironment

In other news, Director Stephen F. Page sold 250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.41, for a total value of $43,602.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 49,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,546,264.41. This represents a 0.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 750 shares of company stock valued at $133,502. Insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AeroVironment

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVAV. ARK Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in AeroVironment by 28.9% during the 3rd quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 400,457 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $126,100,000 after acquiring an additional 89,697 shares during the period. F m Investments LLC purchased a new position in AeroVironment in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,775,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in AeroVironment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $94,655,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in AeroVironment by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 884,395 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $213,956,000 after purchasing an additional 71,903 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 92.2% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 20,173 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,168,000 after purchasing an additional 9,675 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

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.