Royce & Associates LP Has $2.04 Million Position in AeroVironment, Inc. $AVAV

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP cut its AeroVironment stake by 57.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 11,589 shares and leaving it with 8,417 shares valued at about $2.04 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with 86.38% of AeroVironment stock held by institutions. Several large funds increased or initiated positions, including Vanguard, Groupama Asset Management, and Van ECK Associates.
• AeroVironment has benefited from recent government contract wins and drone-sector optimism, including a $20 million Air Force/Space Force contract and a $43 million SkyRange-related deal, even as analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus with a $318.78 price target.

Royce & Associates LP lowered its holdings in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Free Report) by 57.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,417 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 11,589 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP's holdings in AeroVironment were worth $2,036,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in AeroVironment by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,530,073 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,111,585,000 after acquiring an additional 51,959 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new position in AeroVironment during the 3rd quarter valued at $314,890,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in AeroVironment by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 686,273 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $216,101,000 after acquiring an additional 101,713 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in 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 valued at $193,390,000 after acquiring an additional 83,322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in AeroVironment by 17.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 504,270 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $143,692,000 after acquiring an additional 73,963 shares in the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at AeroVironment

In other news, Director Stephen F. Page sold 250 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $7,993,929.81. The trade was a 0.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Brian Charles Shackley sold 200 shares of AeroVironment 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 sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,794 shares in the company, valued at $1,231,340.88. The trade was a 3.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 1,596 shares of company stock worth $349,456 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting AeroVironment

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 Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on AVAV. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on AeroVironment from $325.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Raymond James Financial upgraded AeroVironment from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded AeroVironment from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on AeroVironment from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on AeroVironment from $390.00 to $305.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, AeroVironment has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $318.78.

AeroVironment Trading Down 3.3%

NASDAQ AVAV opened at $207.24 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -47.75, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.35. AeroVironment, Inc. has a one year low of $156.00 and a one year high of $417.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 5.51 and a quick ratio of 4.54. The business's fifty day moving average is $185.32 and its 200-day moving average is $242.53.

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

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.

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