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

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) CAO Brian Shackley sold 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.27, for a total value of $15,227.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,185,878.76. This trade represents a 1.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 shares were sold at an average price of $201.86, for a total value of $41,381.30.

AeroVironment Price Performance

Shares of AVAV traded up $6.69 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $163.14. 1,771,311 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,692,192. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.29 billion, a PE ratio of -69.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.35 and a beta of 1.41. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $156.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $176.01. AeroVironment, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.20 and a fifty-two week high of $417.86. The company has a quick ratio of 3.33, a current ratio of 4.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, September 9th. The aerospace company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $480.49 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $451.95 million. AeroVironment had a negative net margin of 5.77% and a positive return on equity of 4.04%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.32 EPS. AeroVironment has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.020-3.340 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $280.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on AeroVironment from $248.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Raymond James Financial raised AeroVironment from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $285.00 target price on AeroVironment in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded AeroVironment from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $210.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $238.89.

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

Institutional Trading of AeroVironment

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in AeroVironment in the fourth quarter valued at $94,655,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in AeroVironment during the second quarter valued at about $574,566,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its stake in AeroVironment by 289.9% during the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 222,055 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $53,714,000 after acquiring an additional 165,106 shares during the last quarter. MYDA Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AeroVironment during the fourth quarter worth about $3,628,000. Finally, Korea Investment CORP acquired a new stake in AeroVironment during the second quarter worth about $54,901,000. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AeroVironment Company Profile

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.