AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) CAO Sells $15,227.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Insider sale: Chief Accounting Officer Brian Shackley sold 100 AeroVironment shares for $15,227 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, reducing his holdings by 1.27% to 7,788 shares.
• Strong quarterly results: AeroVironment reported quarterly EPS of $0.59, surpassing the $0.22 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 5.7% year over year to $480.49 million.
• Analyst outlook remains favorable: The stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $238.89, despite several analysts recently lowering their individual targets.

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) CAO Brian Shackley sold 100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.27, for a total transaction of $15,227.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 7,788 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,185,878.76. The trade was a 1.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Brian Charles Shackley also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, August 14th, Brian Shackley sold 205 shares of AeroVironment stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.86, for a total value of $41,381.30.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

Shares of AVAV stock traded up $6.69 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $163.14. 1,771,311 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,692,192. The company has a market cap of $8.29 billion, a P/E ratio of -69.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.35 and a beta of 1.41. The company's 50 day moving average is $156.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $176.01. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.20 and a 1 year high of $417.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 4.26 and a quick ratio of 3.33.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 9th. The aerospace company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.37. AeroVironment had a positive return on equity of 4.04% and a negative net margin of 5.77%.The business had revenue of $480.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $451.95 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. AeroVironment has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.020-3.340 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AeroVironment

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the second quarter valued at about $574,566,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 884,395 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $213,956,000 after purchasing an additional 71,903 shares in the last quarter. Heard Capital LLC raised its position in shares of AeroVironment by 48.4% during the 4th quarter. Heard Capital LLC now owns 722,150 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $174,681,000 after purchasing an additional 235,685 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the 4th quarter worth approximately $94,655,000. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lifted its stake in AeroVironment by 18.8% in the 1st quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 490,426 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $89,772,000 after buying an additional 77,619 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.38% of the company's stock.

More AeroVironment News

Here are the key news stories impacting AeroVironment this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Funded backlog provides revenue visibility: AeroVironment ended fiscal first quarter 2027 with approximately $1.5 billion in funded backlog, up from $1.2 billion at the end of the prior quarter. The backlog consists of firm, funded customer orders and could support management’s growth outlook as orders convert into revenue. AeroVironment Has $1.5 Billion in Funded Backlog
• Positive Sentiment: Broader defense platform strengthens the growth narrative: Coverage highlights AeroVironment’s expanding autonomous-systems, counter-drone and directed-energy portfolio, including opportunities across unmanned aerial systems and high-energy lasers. This diversification could increase its addressable market and reduce reliance on any single product line. Is AeroVironment Becoming a Broader Defense Technology Platform?
• Positive Sentiment: New agreements support capacity and directed-energy programs: A long-term agreement with Attalon covers delivery of Valaris high-energy laser platforms, while a collaboration with Nominal will digitize manufacturing and testing data. The initiatives may help AeroVironment scale production and improve execution as customer demand grows. Attalon and AeroVironment Execute Long-Term Agreement
• Neutral Sentiment: Relative strength within the drone sector: AeroVironment has held up better than more speculative drone companies during the sector’s recent weakness, reinforcing its perception as a defense contractor with established programs rather than a purely speculative drone stock. Speculative Drone Names Extend Slide
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling adds a modest cautionary signal: Director Stephen Page sold 250 shares and Chief Accounting Officer Brian Shackley sold 100 shares at $152.27 under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans. The sales were small relative to their remaining holdings and appear scheduled, limiting their significance, but they do not provide a positive insider-buying signal. SEC Insider Sale Filing

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AVAV shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $229.00 to $204.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $225.00 to $185.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 11th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $315.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $238.89.

About AeroVironment

AeroVironment, Inc is a defense technology company that develops and produces unmanned aircraft systems, loitering munitions, counter-unmanned aircraft systems and related robotic technologies. Its products are designed for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, precision strike, force protection and tactical communications applications.

The company's portfolio includes the Raven, Puma and Wasp small unmanned aircraft systems; the JUMP 20 vertical takeoff and landing aircraft; and the Switchblade family of loitering munitions.

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