AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Stock Price Down 4.6% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• AeroVironment shares fell 4.6% to $183.50 on Wednesday on below‑average volume, trading well below its 50‑day ($210.99) and 200‑day ($270.43) moving averages.
• Several analysts have trimmed price targets (e.g., Citizens Jmp $400→$350, KeyCorp $330→$295, Piper Sandler $391→$290), but consensus remains a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $318.78.
• The company missed Q1 estimates—EPS $0.64 vs. $0.68 expected and revenue $408.05M vs. $487.94M—even as revenue jumped 143% year‑over‑year; AeroVironment guided FY2026 EPS to 2.75–3.10 while sell‑side consensus is 2.94.

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 4.6% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $181.70 and last traded at $183.50. 817,537 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 51% from the average session volume of 1,682,651 shares. The stock had previously closed at $192.34.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citizens Jmp reduced their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $330.00 to $295.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AeroVironment from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Citigroup restated a "market outperform" rating on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $391.00 to $290.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $318.78.

AeroVironment Stock Down 4.6%

The business's 50 day simple moving average is $210.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $270.43. The company has a market cap of $9.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -42.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 1.38. 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 (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) last issued 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). The company had revenue of $408.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $487.94 million. AeroVironment had a negative net margin of 13.93% and a positive return on equity of 3.26%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 143.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.30 EPS. AeroVironment has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.750-3.100 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AeroVironment

In other AeroVironment news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of AeroVironment 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 owned 16,026 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,598,638.30. This trade represents a 2.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen F. Page sold 250 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.29, for a total transaction of $49,322.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 49,501 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,766,052.29. This trade represents a 0.50% decrease in their position. 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 2,975 shares of company stock valued at $740,324 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AVAV. United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the 1st quarter valued at $225,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the 2nd quarter valued at $285,000. American Century Companies Inc. bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the 2nd quarter valued at $633,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 5,200.0% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 159 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 24,188 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $6,892,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.38% of the company's stock.

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.

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