AeroVironment climbs as investors weigh analyst upgrade and new defense contract momentum

AeroVironment (AVAV) is up 4.4% today. Here is some analysis on what might have caused this price movement.

Analysis: The move appears tied to improving sentiment around AeroVironment’s defense pipeline after a recent analyst upgrade and several sizable program wins. This could also be because investors are giving more weight to the company’s expanding counter-drone and directed-energy opportunity following its latest earnings update and BlueHalo integration.

Details:

AeroVironment recently posted record fiscal 2026 revenue of nearly $2.0 billion, along with $2.7 billion in bookings and funded backlog of $1.2 billion, reinforcing demand visibility.

The company also issued fiscal 2027 revenue guidance of $2.125 billion to $2.225 billion, suggesting another year of growth even after a volatile stretch for the shares.

Earlier in July, AeroVironment announced a three-year, $500 million IDIQ award tied to the Domestic Shield program, adding to investor confidence in its counter-UAS positioning.

A recent analyst upgrade highlighted a reset in expectations, improving risk-reward, and a potential Army Enduring High Energy Laser opportunity that could further strengthen the directed-energy outlook.

Sources:

AeroVironment, U.S. Army, Investing.com

Disclaimer: This price movement analysis was generated with the help of AI. Please double-check the information provided for mistakes.

$AVAV Insider Trading Activity

$AVAV insiders have traded $AVAV stock on the open market 12 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 0 have been purchases and 12 have been sales.

Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $AVAV stock by insiders over the last 6 months:

STEPHEN F PAGE has made 0 purchases and 8 sales selling 2,248 shares for an estimated $493,321.
KEVIN PATRICK MCDONNELL (CFO) has made 0 purchases and 2 sales selling 1,275 shares for an estimated $324,142.
BRIAN CHARLES SHACKLEY (SVP, Chief Accounting Officer) has made 0 purchases and 2 sales selling 500 shares for an estimated $85,404.

To track insider transactions, check out Quiver Quantitative's insider trading dashboard. You can access data on insider stock transactions through the Quiver Quantitative API insider transaction endpoint.

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$AVAV Hedge Fund Activity

We have seen 330 institutional investors add shares of $AVAV stock to their portfolio, and 244 decrease their positions in their most recent quarter.

Here are some of the largest recent moves:

BLACKROCK, INC. removed 708,485 shares (-12.5%) from their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $129,688,179
BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON CORP removed 339,844 shares (-61.0%) from their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $62,208,444
ALYESKA INVESTMENT GROUP, L.P. added 331,664 shares (+85.1%) to their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $60,711,095
DRIEHAUS CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC removed 319,833 shares (-100.0%) from their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $58,545,430
STATE STREET CORP added 307,712 shares (+15.5%) to their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $56,326,681
CHAMPLAIN INVESTMENT PARTNERS, LLC added 295,077 shares (+inf%) to their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $54,013,844
ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN L.P. removed 290,257 shares (-80.6%) from their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $53,131,543

To track hedge funds' stock portfolios, check out Quiver Quantitative's institutional holdings dashboard. You can access data on hedge funds moves and 13F filings through the Quiver Quantitative API 13F endpoint.

$AVAV Government Contracts

We have seen $663,409,097 of award payments to $AVAV over the last year.

Here are some of the awards which we have have seen pay out the most over the last year:

SUAS HURRICANE DRONES: $49,257,580
LOW ALTITUDE STALKING AND STRIKE ORDNANCE (LASSO). ALL DELIVERABLE AND WORK SHALL BE PERFORMED IN ACCORDANC...: $39,173,209
PUMA AE 3, PUMA LE, PUMA ACCESSORIES, ERA, PUMA SOFTWARE UPDATE KIT, CONTRACTOR LOGISTICS SUPPORTS SERVICES...: $26,236,824

To track government contracts to publicy traded companies, check out Quiver Quantitative's government contracts dashboard. You can access data on government contracts through the Quiver Quantitative API government contracts endpoint.

$AVAV Congressional Stock Trading

Members of Congress have traded $AVAV stock 2 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 2 have been purchases and 0 have been sales.

Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $AVAV stock by members of Congress over the last 6 months:

REPRESENTATIVE GILBERT RAY CISNEROS, JR. has traded it 2 times. They made 2 purchases worth up to $30,000 on 03/03, 01/27 and 0 sales.

To track congressional stock trading, check out Quiver Quantitative's congressional trading dashboard. You can access data on congressional stock trades through the Quiver Quantitative API Congress trades endpoint.

$AVAV Analyst Ratings

Wall Street analysts have issued reports on $AVAV in the last several months. We have seen 3 firms issue buy ratings on the stock, and 0 firms issue sell ratings.

Here are some recent analyst ratings:

BTIG issued a "Buy" rating on 06/30/2026
Piper Sandler issued a "Overweight" rating on 06/26/2026
JP Morgan issued a "Overweight" rating on 02/17/2026

To track analyst ratings and price targets for $AVAV, check out Quiver Quantitative's $AVAV forecast page.

$AVAV Price Targets

Multiple analysts have issued price targets for $AVAV recently. We have seen 13 analysts offer price targets for $AVAV in the last 6 months, with a median target of $229.0.

Here are some recent targets:

Austin Bohlig from Needham set a target price of $225.0 on 07/09/2026
Clarke Jeffries from Piper Sandler set a target price of $235.0 on 07/09/2026
Ken Herbert from RBC Capital set a target price of $180.0 on 07/09/2026
Andre Madrid from BTIG set a target price of $205.0 on 07/09/2026
Sam Brandeis from Wedbush set a target price of $250.0 on 07/01/2026
Austin Moeller from Canaccord Genuity set a target price of $280.0 on 07/01/2026
Greg Konrad from Jefferies set a target price of $229.0 on 07/01/2026

This article is not financial advice. See Quiver Quantitative's disclaimers for more information. Note that there may be inaccuracies due to mistakes in ticker-mapping, and other anomalies.