AeroVironment, Inc. $AVAV Shares Sold by Black Swift Group LLC

Black Swift Group LLC reduced its stake in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 43.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,000 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 5,350 shares during the quarter. Black Swift Group LLC’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $1,693,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of AeroVironment by 1.5% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $314,890,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of AeroVironment by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 884,395 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $213,956,000 after purchasing an additional 71,903 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of AeroVironment by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 686,273 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $216,101,000 after purchasing an additional 101,713 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of AeroVironment by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 614,444 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $193,390,000 after purchasing an additional 83,322 shares during the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.55, for a total transaction 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 $3,598,638.30. The trade was a 2.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Stephen F. Page sold 250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.31, for a total transaction of $40,577.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 49,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,993,929.81. This represents a 0.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 1,346 shares of company stock valued at $274,456 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

AeroVironment News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting AeroVironment this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AVAV is benefiting from renewed investor enthusiasm for U.S. drone stocks after reports said the Trump administration is exploring funding deals, and possibly deeper government support, for domestic drone manufacturers. Drone Stocks Surge As Unusual Machines Jumps 57% On Funding Talks
• Positive Sentiment: The company announced a $20 million U.S. Air Force and Space Force contract, reinforcing demand for its defense technology and helping drive the recent rally. AV Awarded $20 Million Contract to Advance Ceramic Materials Research for the U.S. Air Force and Space Force
• Positive Sentiment: Investors also reacted to another government-backed win: a $43 million contract to integrate AVAV’s PANTHER antenna onto SkyRange platforms, adding to confidence in future contract momentum. AeroVironment (AVAV) Secures $43M Contract to Integrate PANTHER Antenna onto SkyRange Platforms
• Neutral Sentiment: Traders are also watching unusual options activity and strong volume, suggesting elevated speculation around the stock’s move. Traders Purchase Large Volume of AeroVironment Call Options (NASDAQ:AVAV)
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms announced or promoted securities class-action claims tied to AVAV, creating a legal overhang that could pressure sentiment despite the operational positives. AVAV Investors Have Opportunity to Lead AeroVironment, Inc. Securities Fraud Lawsuit

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AVAV shares. Citizens Jmp cut their price objective on AeroVironment from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report 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 research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $389.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Zacks Research raised shares of AeroVironment from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $391.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $318.78.

AeroVironment Price Performance

AVAV stock opened at $207.24 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.35 billion, a P/E ratio of -47.75, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 4.54 and a current ratio of 5.51. AeroVironment, Inc. has a one year low of $156.00 and a one year high of $417.86. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $185.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $241.89.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 10th. The aerospace company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $408.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $487.94 million. AeroVironment had a positive return on equity of 3.26% and a negative net margin of 13.93%.The firm’s revenue was up 143.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.30 earnings per share. AeroVironment has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.750-3.100 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

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.