William Blair Raises Earnings Estimates for AeroVironment

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) – Equities researchers at William Blair lifted their FY2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of AeroVironment in a research note issued on Wednesday, February 12th. William Blair analyst L. Dipalma now forecasts that the aerospace company will post earnings per share of $4.66 for the year, up from their previous estimate of $4.06. William Blair has a “Outperform” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for AeroVironment’s current full-year earnings is $3.38 per share.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.29). The business had revenue of $188.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $181.80 million. AeroVironment had a net margin of 6.39% and a return on equity of 8.12%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.97 EPS.

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the company from $240.00 to $230.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.20.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

NASDAQ AVAV opened at $156.99 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.43 billion, a PE ratio of 90.22 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $186.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 4.61 and a quick ratio of 3.36. AeroVironment has a 1-year low of $121.38 and a 1-year high of $236.60.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AeroVironment

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AVAV. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in AeroVironment by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,098,822 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $476,878,000 after purchasing an additional 35,543 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its position in AeroVironment by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 2,135,280 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $328,598,000 after purchasing an additional 183,887 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in AeroVironment by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,582,871 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $317,366,000 after purchasing an additional 7,471 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in AeroVironment by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 654,024 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $100,670,000 after purchasing an additional 19,835 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heard Capital LLC raised its position in AeroVironment by 25.5% during the 3rd quarter. Heard Capital LLC now owns 592,136 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $118,723,000 after purchasing an additional 120,447 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at AeroVironment

In related news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.73, for a total transaction of $78,697.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,472 shares in the company, valued at $3,273,480.56. The trade was a 2.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.27% of the company’s stock.

About AeroVironment

AeroVironment, Inc designs, develops, produces, delivers, and supports a portfolio of robotic systems and related services for government agencies and businesses in the United States and internationally. It operates through Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (SUAS), Tactical Missile System (TMS), Medium Unmanned Aircraft Systems (MUAS), and High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite Systems (HAPS) segments.