Insider Selling: AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) CFO Sells $88,921.80 in Stock

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.55, for a total value of $88,921.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 16,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,598,638.30. This represents a 2.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, February 10th, Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 879 shares of AeroVironment stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.60, for a total value of $235,220.40.
• On Monday, January 12th, Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 999 shares of AeroVironment stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.60, for a total value of $367,232.40.

AeroVironment Price Performance

Shares of AVAV opened at $207.07 on Friday. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 52 week low of $102.25 and a 52 week high of $417.86. The company has a current ratio of 5.51, a quick ratio of 4.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm has a market cap of $10.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -47.71, a PEG ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.26. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $281.00 and a 200-day moving average of $291.88.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). AeroVironment had a negative net margin of 13.93% and a positive return on equity of 3.26%. The firm had revenue of $408.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $487.94 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 143.4% on a year-over-year basis. AeroVironment has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.750-3.100 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on AVAV shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $390.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $355.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $259.00 to $236.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on AeroVironment from $335.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $318.78.

Institutional Trading of AeroVironment

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in AeroVironment during the 1st quarter worth $225,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the second quarter valued at $285,000. Wedbush Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the second quarter valued at $273,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 108.4% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 346 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in AeroVironment by 7.6% in the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 10,156 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,894,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares during the period. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key AeroVironment News

Here are the key news stories impacting AeroVironment this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Underlying demand/backlog: Q3 revenue rose ~143% YoY and the company still reports a multi‑hundred‑million to billion‑level backlog that supports longer‑term revenue — a constructive backdrop if execution and contract timing normalize. Q3 revenue and backlog discussion
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains: despite trimming targets, many firms (BTIG, Jefferies, Canaccord and others) kept Buy/Outperform ratings, signalling expectations of mid/long‑term upside if AeroVironment regains program visibility and scales production. Analyst note summary (Benzinga)
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings and guidance: Q3 results beat on some metrics (strong YoY revenue growth) but missed consensus on revenue and EPS; management set FY‑2026 EPS guidance of $2.75–$3.10, below street expectations — creates uncertainty but also sets clearer, more conservative targets. Q3 miss and guidance
• Neutral Sentiment: Price‑target downgrades but ratings mixed: several shops cut targets (KeyBanc, Canaccord, BTIG, Jefferies) while mostly keeping Buy/Outperform stances — implies recalibrated expectations rather than broad conviction shift. KeyCorp target cut Canaccord note
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest reporting in feeds shows anomalous/zero values (likely data error); no clear short squeeze signal from those items. Short interest entries (data anomaly)
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: shares plunged after the Q3 miss and the outlook cut as investors punished reduced near‑term visibility and growth assumptions. Shares fall on Q3 miss
• Negative Sentiment: Contract risk: reports of SCAR/Space Force contract termination or timing disruptions remove material unfunded backlog (reports cite ~$1.4–1.7B), increasing near‑term revenue uncertainty and pressuring sentiment. SCAR contract and backlog risk
• Negative Sentiment: Financing/leverage risk: disclosure of a $727M notes issuance tightens covenants and raises leverage/liquidity risk — an added structural concern for investors already focused on visibility. Notes issuance risk
• Negative Sentiment: Headline/legal/insider risk: Pomerantz launched an investor probe and the CFO disclosed small share sales — both increase short‑term headline risk and may amplify volatility. Pomerantz investigation CFO Form 4

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.