Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 7,191 Shares of AeroVironment, Inc. $AVAV

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. slightly increased its stake in AeroVironment by 0.2%, buying 7,191 shares to hold 3,537,264 shares (about 7.08% of the company) valued at roughly $855.63 million at quarter-end.
• AeroVironment's quarter missed estimates—EPS $0.64 vs. $0.68 and revenue $408.05M vs. $487.94M—yet the company set FY2026 guidance of 2.75–3.10 EPS and analysts' average forecast is 2.94 with a "Moderate Buy" consensus.
• Insiders have been selling recently (including the CAO and CFO), totaling 2,975 shares worth $740,324 over the past 90 days, leaving insiders with about 0.81% ownership.

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Free Report) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,537,264 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,191 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 7.08% of AeroVironment worth $855,629,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 60.0% in the third quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 80 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Tema Etfs LLC bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 100.0% in the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 80 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the third quarter worth about $29,000. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at AeroVironment

In related news, CAO Brian Charles Shackley sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.52, for a total transaction of $42,504.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,231,340.88. This represents a 3.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 879 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.60, for a total value of $235,220.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 16,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,394,527.20. This trade represents a 5.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,975 shares of company stock valued at $740,324. Insiders own 0.81% of the company's stock.

AeroVironment Stock Down 5.2%

AVAV stock opened at $184.97 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $9.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -42.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a 50-day moving average of $207.62 and a 200-day moving average of $268.32. AeroVironment, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $154.39 and a fifty-two week high of $417.86.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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). AeroVironment had a negative net margin of 13.93% and a positive return on equity of 3.26%. The company had revenue of $408.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $487.94 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.30 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 143.4% on a year-over-year basis. AeroVironment has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.750-3.100 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVAV has been the subject of several recent research reports. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on AeroVironment from $330.00 to $295.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Zacks Research cut AeroVironment from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on AeroVironment from $391.00 to $290.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Clear Str raised AeroVironment to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on AeroVironment from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an "outperform" 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, two have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $318.78.

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.

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