Needham & Company LLC Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV)

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $225.00 price objective on the aerospace company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 42.60% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on AVAV. Wedbush initiated coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research cut AeroVironment to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded AeroVironment from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday. Zacks Research raised AeroVironment from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $248.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Two investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, AeroVironment has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.79.

AeroVironment Trading Down 2.9%

AVAV stock opened at $157.78 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.99 billion, a PE ratio of -42.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 3.59 and a current ratio of 4.30. AeroVironment has a one year low of $135.20 and a one year high of $417.86. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $172.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $222.05.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AeroVironment news, Director Stephen F. Page sold 250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director owned 49,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,546,264.41. This trade represents a 0.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 worth $133,502. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AeroVironment

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 25.7% during the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,115 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,990,000 after purchasing an additional 3,698 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in AeroVironment during the 2nd quarter valued at about $59,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in AeroVironment by 47.6% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 18,506 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,055,000 after purchasing an additional 5,964 shares during the period. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in AeroVironment by 46.9% during the 2nd quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,912 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division raised its position in AeroVironment by 87.7% during the 2nd quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 7,373 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,217,000 after purchasing an additional 3,444 shares during the last quarter. 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

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.