AeroVironment, Inc. $AVAV Shares Purchased by Blair William & Co. IL

Blair William & Co. IL raised its position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 3.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 87,139 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,791 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $27,439,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in AeroVironment by 60.0% in the third quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 80 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its stake in AeroVironment by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 80 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in AeroVironment during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on AVAV. KeyCorp increased their target price on AeroVironment from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $350.00 to $260.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $320.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citizens Jmp reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Thursday, February 12th. One 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $348.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Brian Charles Shackley sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 5,994 shares in the company, valued at $1,504,014.48. This represents a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen F. Page sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.62, for a total transaction of $377,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 51,001 shares in the company, valued at $19,258,997.62. This represents a 1.92% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 4,589 shares of company stock valued at $1,428,910. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

AVAV stock opened at $229.80 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $284.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $293.03. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 12-month low of $102.25 and a 12-month high of $417.86. The firm has a market cap of $11.47 billion, a P/E ratio of -183.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 5.08, a quick ratio of 4.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 9th. The aerospace company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.43). AeroVironment had a positive return on equity of 3.42% and a negative net margin of 5.08%.The business had revenue of $472.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $466.16 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.47 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 150.7% compared to the same quarter last year. AeroVironment has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.400-3.550 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

More AeroVironment News

Here are the key news stories impacting AeroVironment this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AeroVironment won a $97.4 million U.S. Army contract, reinforcing near-term revenue visibility and supporting demand for Switchblade and other tactical systems. This award is a concrete sales driver ahead of the company’s upcoming quarter. Benzinga: Army Contract
• Positive Sentiment: Sector tailwinds: Market commentary highlights AeroVironment as a core beneficiary of rising defense budgets and the shift to unmanned systems, which can attract buyers rotating into defense names. MarketBeat: Unmanned Profits
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming catalysts and investor access: management will present at the J.P. Morgan Industrials Conference (March 18) and Q3 earnings are due imminently — both could move the stock materially depending on guidance and margin commentary. Yahoo: JP Morgan Presentation
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate items with limited market impact: the company adopted a new executive deferred-compensation plan (administrative). TipRanks: Deferred Comp Plan
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest data in these feeds appears inconsistent (shows zero), so short-covering is not a clear driver from the published figures.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks downgraded AVAV from “hold” to “strong sell,” signaling downgrade-driven selling pressure from momentum or quant strategies. Zacks
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple analysts have cut forecasts or price targets (Robert W. Baird, Piper Sandler, RBC), increasing downside risk from lower sell-side expectations. Baird note Piper Sandler note RBC note
• Negative Sentiment: A shareholder class-action probe by Pomerantz introduces litigation risk and potential headline-driven volatility for investors. PR Newswire: Pomerantz Investigation
• Negative Sentiment: Earnings uncertainty: previews from Seeking Alpha and other outlets warn of margin/cost headwinds and specific program risks (the “1.4B problem”), which could pressure the stock if guidance or margins disappoint. Seeking Alpha: Q4 Preview
• Negative Sentiment: Recent sell-off commentary highlights a sizable pullback ahead of earnings and the potential for further downside if macro or company-specific headlines worsen. Yahoo: Reassessing AVAV Yahoo: Falls More Steeply

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.