AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Trading Down 2.1% – Time to Sell?

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) was down 2.1% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $205.00 and last traded at $211.35. Approximately 1,877,390 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 5% from the average daily volume of 1,970,497 shares. The stock had previously closed at $215.85.

Key Headlines Impacting AeroVironment

Here are the key news stories impacting AeroVironment this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Completed acquisition of Empirical Systems Aerospace (ESAero) — $200M deal expands engineering, AS9100 manufacturing and hybrid/electric propulsion capabilities, supporting AVAV’s defense and autonomous-aircraft growth strategy. AeroVironment Acquires ESAero
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst consensus remains constructive — recent aggregator coverage shows a “Moderate Buy” consensus and many buy/outperform ratings, which supports longer‑term investor interest. Analysts Give “Moderate Buy”
• Neutral Sentiment: Q3 results: revenue rose ~143% YoY (helped by acquisitions) but AVAV missed consensus revenue and EPS, and guidance is mixed — strong top‑line growth supports the long‑term thesis while the miss tempers near‑term expectations. AVAV Reports $408M FQ3 Revenue
• Neutral Sentiment: Management visibility: AeroVironment presented at the JPMorgan Industrials Conference (transcript available) — useful for investor Q&A but no material surprise emerged. JPMorgan Presentation Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Small insider sales disclosed (CAO and a director sold ~200–250 shares each) — routine trimming by insiders, not a large stake reduction but monitored by investors. Insider Sales Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Investor litigation risk: Pomerantz LLP launched an investigation into AVAV (followed by other firms soliciting inquiries) — multiple probes raise headline and legal risk, increasing short‑term uncertainty. Pomerantz Investigation
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst target cuts and risk coverage: BTIG trimmed its target (and others have lowered targets) while several media pieces flagged AVAV as a risky small‑cap play — these items pressure sentiment despite buy ratings. BTIG Price Target Cut

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on AVAV. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $325.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of AeroVironment from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $389.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $318.78.

AeroVironment Stock Down 2.1%

The company’s 50 day moving average is $275.34 and its 200 day moving average is $291.59. The company has a market cap of $10.55 billion, a PE ratio of -48.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 1.26. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $408.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $487.94 million. AeroVironment had a negative net margin of 13.93% and a positive return on equity of 3.26%. AeroVironment’s quarterly revenue was up 143.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. AeroVironment has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.750-3.100 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AeroVironment

In related news, Director Stephen F. Page sold 250 shares of the 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 $53,130.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 49,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,573,082.52. This represents a 0.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.55, for a total value of $88,921.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 16,026 shares in the company, valued at $3,598,638.30. The trade was a 2.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 4,924 shares of company stock worth $1,486,038. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AeroVironment

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in AeroVironment during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Tema Etfs LLC purchased a new position in AeroVironment during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its position in shares of AeroVironment by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 80 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

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.