Erste Asset Management GmbH Acquires 5,200 Shares of AeroVironment, Inc. $AVAV

Erste Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 558.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,131 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 5,200 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $1,527,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AVAV. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in AeroVironment during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Smithfield Trust Co bought a new stake in AeroVironment during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 72.1% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 105 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVAV has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on AeroVironment from $391.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Monday. Zacks Research raised AeroVironment from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on AeroVironment from $389.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $318.78.

AeroVironment Price Performance

AeroVironment stock opened at $172.93 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $184.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $236.02. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 12 month low of $156.00 and a 12 month high of $417.86. The company has a market cap of $8.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.85, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.35. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, March 10th. The aerospace company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.04). AeroVironment had a positive return on equity of 3.26% and a negative net margin of 13.93%.The firm had revenue of $408.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $487.94 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 143.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Key AeroVironment News

Here are the key news stories impacting AeroVironment this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms announced or promoted class action lawsuits against AeroVironment, with investors alleging misleading disclosures during the June 25, 2025 to March 10, 2026 period and a lead-plaintiff deadline of July 27, 2026. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Levi & Korsinsky said it is examining AeroVironment’s risk disclosures, alleging executives privately knew the company’s $1.7 billion SCAR contract faced imminent termination, adding to fraud concerns. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Separate firms including Pomerantz, Berger Montague, Glancy Prongay, Faruqi & Faruqi, Rosen, Kirby McInerney, and others also issued alerts, signaling mounting legal overhang and potential distraction/costs for AVAV. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: AeroVironment also had a product/operational update on expanding deployment of its connected-vehicle traffic information platform, which is supportive of the business but appears less important to near-term stock moves than the litigation news. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary noted AVAV has experienced sharp recent share-price swings, but the immediate trading tone is being driven more by the lawsuit headlines than by fundamentals. Article Title

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Stephen F. Page sold 250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were 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 approximately $10,573,082.52. This represents a 0.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Brian Charles Shackley sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.52, for a total value of $42,504.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,794 shares in the company, valued at $1,231,340.88. This trade represents a 3.34% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 950 shares of company stock valued at $185,534 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

AeroVironment 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.