Analysts Set AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) Price Target at $318.78

Shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation, eighteen have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $318.7778.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AVAV shares. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on AeroVironment from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $486.00 to $429.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 12th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of AeroVironment from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Citizens Jmp cut their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Stephen F. Page sold 1,000 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.62, for a total value of $377,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 51,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,258,997.62. The trade was a 1.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Brian Charles Shackley sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.52, for a total value of $42,504.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,794 shares in the company, valued at $1,231,340.88. The trade was a 3.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,924 shares of company stock worth $1,486,038. Insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AeroVironment

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 1.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,530,073 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,111,585,000 after buying an additional 51,959 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new position in AeroVironment during the 3rd quarter worth about $314,890,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in AeroVironment by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 884,395 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $213,956,000 after acquiring an additional 71,903 shares during the last quarter. Heard Capital LLC increased its position in AeroVironment by 48.4% in the 4th quarter. Heard Capital LLC now owns 722,150 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $174,681,000 after acquiring an additional 235,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in AeroVironment by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 686,273 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $216,101,000 after acquiring an additional 101,713 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

AeroVironment Trading Up 4.3%

Shares of AVAV opened at $206.27 on Thursday. AeroVironment has a 1 year low of $102.25 and a 1 year high of $417.86. The company has a current ratio of 5.51, a quick ratio of 4.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $266.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $291.32. The stock has a market cap of $10.30 billion, a PE ratio of -47.53, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 1.26.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 10th. The aerospace company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $408.05 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $487.94 million. AeroVironment had a positive return on equity of 3.26% and a negative net margin of 13.93%.AeroVironment’s quarterly revenue was up 143.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.30 EPS. AeroVironment has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.750-3.100 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AeroVironment will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Key Headlines Impacting AeroVironment

Here are the key news stories impacting AeroVironment this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Won a roughly $117M U.S. Army contract for P550 drones, which analysts and traders viewed as a tangible revenue win and helped push the stock higher. AeroVironment (AVAV) Stock Jumps 5% Following Major Army Deal and Rating Boost
• Positive Sentiment: Raymond James upgraded AVAV from “Underperform” to “Market Perform,” citing a valuation reset; the rating change provided immediate technical and sentiment support. Raymond James upgrades AeroVironment (AVAV)
• Positive Sentiment: Broader defense-stock strength after the U.S. postponed military action against Iran provided a sector tailwind, lifting AVAV alongside other defense names during the afternoon session. Orion, nLIGHT, Quest Resource, AeroVironment, and Northwest Pipe Shares Are Soaring
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest figures for March appear to contain anomalies (zeros and NaN), so there’s no clear short-squeeze signal from the published data; treat these numbers cautiously until corrected by exchanges or data providers.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent quarterly results missed revenue and EPS expectations and management issued guidance that disappointed some investors — a longer-term headwind that has left AVAV trading well below its 50- and 200-day moving averages and supports bearish technical narratives. AeroVironment stock price sinks as risky patterns emerge: can it hit $170?

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.