AeroVironment’s (AVAV) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by Needham & Company LLC in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $225.00 price objective on the aerospace company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 42.60% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on AVAV. Raymond James Financial raised shares of AeroVironment from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Wolfe Research cut shares of AeroVironment to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on AeroVironment from $305.00 to $229.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $248.00 price objective on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut AeroVironment from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.79.

AeroVironment Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of AVAV opened at $157.78 on Thursday. AeroVironment has a twelve month low of $135.20 and a twelve month high of $417.86. The stock has a market cap of $7.99 billion, a PE ratio of -42.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 3.59, a current ratio of 4.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $172.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $222.05.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, June 29th. The aerospace company reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $641.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $555.97 million. AeroVironment had a negative net margin of 9.00% and a positive return on equity of 3.71%. AeroVironment’s revenue was up 133.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.61 earnings per share. AeroVironment has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.020-3.340 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that AeroVironment will post 3.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AeroVironment news, Director Stephen F. Page sold 250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.41, for a total value of $43,602.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 49,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,546,264.41. The trade was a 0.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 750 shares of company stock valued at $133,502. 0.81% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AeroVironment

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AVAV. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in AeroVironment in the first quarter worth $25,000. Tema Etfs LLC purchased a new stake in AeroVironment during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in AeroVironment during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new stake in AeroVironment during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new stake in AeroVironment during the third quarter worth about $29,000. 86.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key AeroVironment News

Here are the key news stories impacting AeroVironment this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The company used its 2026 Investor Day to outline a growth strategy and new fiscal 2030 targets, including 15% to 20% organic revenue growth and 18% to 20% adjusted EBITDA margins, which helped improve sentiment around AeroVironment’s long-term earnings power. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary pointed to the investor day as a reason the stock rose, saying the new long-term outlook supports margin expansion and continued growth expectations. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: AeroVironment also announced a $30.9 million contract for its Puma systems for Germany’s LARUS program, adding to recent evidence of demand for its unmanned systems and counter-UAS offerings. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform view with a $210 price target, reinforcing the bullish case for AeroVironment’s mid-term outlook. Article title
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple articles highlighted the company’s Investor Day materials and transcript, but these were largely summaries of the same event rather than new information. Article title
• Negative Sentiment: Investor law firms announced and promoted a securities class action related to alleged disclosures during the June 2025 to March 2026 period, creating a legal overhang that can weigh on the shares. Article title
• Negative Sentiment: Another negative factor is that management left guidance unchanged at Investor Day, which some traders viewed as less exciting than expected and a possible reason the stock gave back some gains. Article title

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.