Jefferies Financial Group Reiterates “Buy” Rating for AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV)

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by equities researchers at Jefferies Financial Group in a report issued on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. They presently have a $390.00 target price on the aerospace company’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 70.83% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $400.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $259.00 price objective for the company. Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Zacks Research upgraded AeroVironment from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on AeroVironment from $486.00 to $429.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AeroVironment has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $348.33.

AeroVironment Price Performance

NASDAQ:AVAV opened at $228.30 on Monday. AeroVironment has a 52-week low of $102.25 and a 52-week high of $417.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $286.15 and a 200 day moving average of $293.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 4.29 and a current ratio of 5.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -182.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.26.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at AeroVironment

In other news, CAO Brian Charles Shackley sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.92, for a total transaction of $50,184.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,504,014.48. This trade represents a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 879 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.60, for a total value of $235,220.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 16,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,394,527.20. This represents a 5.08% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 4,589 shares of company stock worth $1,428,910 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 30 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in AeroVironment in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Tema Etfs LLC purchased a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 100.0% during the third 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. Institutional investors own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting AeroVironment

Here are the key news stories impacting AeroVironment this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company statement says it is in active negotiations with the U.S. Space Force on a contract amendment tied to the SCAR ground-station program — an outcome that could preserve a major revenue stream. AV Issues Statement Regarding Active Negotiations for Contract Amendment
• Positive Sentiment: Defense-sector tailwinds and heightened geopolitical tensions (Middle East) have lifted peer stocks and boosted demand expectations for AeroVironment’s drones and tactical systems. That macro support is a likely contributor to today’s uplift. Why Is AeroVironment Stock Soaring Tuesday?
• Positive Sentiment: Underlying business momentum remains strong: recent commentary and filings point to very high revenue growth and record contract awards (management previously reported $3.5B in contract wins and major Y/Y revenue gains), which supports upside if margins and EPS recover. Defense Stocks Are Soaring—AeroVironment’s Earnings Could Close the Gap
• Neutral Sentiment: Several firms trimmed price targets (Royal Bank of Canada, Baird, Piper Sandler) but left bullish ratings in place — mixed signal: analysts trimmed near-term expectations while still showing meaningful upside. RBC cuts price target on AeroVironment
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data in public feeds showed odd/zero figures for early March (likely a data glitch); it doesn’t appear to explain the moves. (Monitor official exchange/CBOE short-interest releases for confirmation.)
• Negative Sentiment: Raymond James downgraded AVAV to Underperform, citing increased risk after the Space Force said it would broaden suppliers and open a rebid for mobile ground stations — that triggered a sharp selloff earlier in the week. Raymond James Downgrades AeroVironment
• Negative Sentiment: Director Stephen F. Page sold 250 shares recently (Form 4 filed), a small insider sale but typically watched by investors during volatile periods. SEC Form 4 (Page sale)
• Negative Sentiment: Market volatility around the Space Force rebid and analyst downgrades increases near-term execution risk — keep an eye on the company’s upcoming earnings and any formal award/contract updates for SCAR. AeroVironment Tumbles 17% as Space Force Eyes More Mobile Ground Suppliers

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.