AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Stock Price Down 7.5% Following Insider Selling

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) shares fell 7.5% on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $236.36 and last traded at $243.42. 1,589,912 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 7% from the average session volume of 1,718,383 shares. The stock had previously closed at $263.26.

Specifically, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 879 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.60, for a total transaction of $235,220.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 16,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,394,527.20. This trade represents a 5.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on AVAV shares. Weiss Ratings cut shares of AeroVironment from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Monday. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $415.00 price objective on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on AeroVironment from $335.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of AeroVironment from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $378.06.

Key AeroVironment News

Here are the key news stories impacting AeroVironment this week:

• Positive Sentiment: U.S. Army deployed AeroVironment’s LOCUST counter‑drone laser near El Paso, demonstrating field use of AVAV’s high‑value defense capability (the event led to a multi‑hour airspace halt, highlighting operational impact and potential follow‑on demand). Reuters: LOCUST deployed
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a market‑outperform view and set a $400 price target, implying material upside versus recent levels — a signal that some sell‑side firms remain confident in AVAV’s growth trajectory. TickerReport: Analyst note
• Positive Sentiment: Corporate/government affairs hire: AVAV named Stephen Voline as Senior Director, Washington Operations to strengthen DoD and congressional engagement — may help with program capture and procurement navigation. BusinessWire: New Washington hire
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest postings show “0” shorted shares in recent reports — the data looks like a reporting anomaly and is not meaningful evidence of a change in short‑seller positioning.
• Neutral Sentiment: Media pieces are framing AVAV as “repositioning” into larger defense programs (citing the hire and reported USAF activity) — strategic narrative positive if converted to wins, but impact is speculative until contracts are disclosed. Yahoo Finance: Repositioning story
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: CFO Kevin P. McDonnell sold 879 shares (~5% reduction of his disclosed holding) at about $267.60 per share — an insider sale that can weigh on sentiment even if size is modest versus total holdings. SEC Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Technical/market commentary highlights recent underperformance and heightened volatility — analysts and market pieces note the stock has pulled back from its highs, which can amplify selling pressure and short‑term downside. Zacks: AVAV falls more steeply

AeroVironment Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 4.29, a current ratio of 5.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $11.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -188.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.23. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $285.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $293.77.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, December 9th. The aerospace company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 last year, the business earned $0.47 EPS. The business’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. Analysts predict that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of AeroVironment

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new position in AeroVironment in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $314,890,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 14.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,478,114 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $991,089,000 after acquiring an additional 433,830 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the fourth quarter worth $94,655,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 24,798.7% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 315,716 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $99,416,000 after purchasing an additional 314,448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in AeroVironment by 75.6% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 609,019 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $173,540,000 after acquiring an additional 262,239 shares during the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.