AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Shares Up 9.6% – Here’s Why

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) rose 9.6% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $237.00 and last traded at $228.30. Approximately 5,447,772 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 188% from the average daily volume of 1,890,193 shares. The stock had previously closed at $208.32.

AeroVironment News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting AeroVironment this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Defense-sector rally and geopolitical risk are lifting demand expectations for AVAV’s drone and loitering-munition products; that bullish flow helped shares recover after Monday’s slide. Benzinga: Why Is AeroVironment Stock Soaring Tuesday?
• Positive Sentiment: AV says it is in active negotiations with the U.S. Space Force on a contract amendment for the SCAR ground-station program — that keeps a potential large award on the table rather than lost business. BusinessWire: AV Issues Statement Regarding Active Negotiations
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies reaffirmed a Buy and defended the stock after the selloff, signaling some analysts view the rout as overdone and supporting a rebound case. StreetInsider: Jefferies Defends AeroVironment
• Neutral Sentiment: Several brokers trimmed price targets (RBC, Baird, Piper) but kept Outperform/Overweight calls — this tempers upside while still leaving room for gains if contracts or margins improve. MarketScreener: RBC Cuts PT on AeroVironment
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary highlights AVAV’s strong revenue growth and heavy backlog, and argues upcoming earnings could validate valuation if margins recover — earnings are a near-term catalyst to watch. MarketBeat: Defense Stocks Are Soaring—AeroVironment’s Earnings Could Close the Gap
• Negative Sentiment: Raymond James downgraded AVAV to Underperform, citing SCAR program recompetition concerns; that commentary triggered heavy selling and forced a reevaluation of a key long‑term revenue driver. StreetInsider: Raymond James Downgrades AVAV
• Negative Sentiment: News that the Space Force may reopen a ~$1.4B rebid for mobile ground suppliers directly threatened AV’s expected share of SCAR, driving a ~17% one‑day decline and elevated volume as investors de‑risked. Yahoo Finance: AVAV Tumbles 17% as Space Force Eyes More Mobile Ground Suppliers
• Negative Sentiment: Underlying fundamentals remain a concern: recent EPS missed estimates and margin compression (software transition, mix shift after acquisitions) mean upside depends on margin recovery and clearer contract outcomes. MarketBeat: Margin and EPS Analysis

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVAV has been the subject of a number of research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of AeroVironment from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $350.00 to $260.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $355.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on AeroVironment in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $320.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $348.33.

AeroVironment Trading Up 9.6%

The company has a current ratio of 5.08, a quick ratio of 4.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $286.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $293.86. The firm has a market cap of $11.40 billion, a PE ratio of -182.64, a PEG ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 1.23.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 9th. The aerospace company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.43). AeroVironment had a negative net margin of 5.08% and a positive return on equity of 3.42%. The business had revenue of $472.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $466.16 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. AeroVironment’s quarterly revenue was up 150.7% on a year-over-year basis. AeroVironment has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.400-3.550 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other AeroVironment news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 879 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.60, for a total value of $235,220.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 16,422 shares in the company, valued at $4,394,527.20. This trade represents a 5.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Brian Charles Shackley sold 200 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.92, for a total value of $50,184.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,504,014.48. The trade was a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,589 shares of company stock valued at $1,428,910. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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