AeroVironment slides as investors weigh CFO change and lingering Space Force contract uncertainty

AeroVironment, Inc. (AVAV) is down 5.0% today. Here is some analysis on what might have caused this price movement.

Analysis: The selloff appears tied to continued investor sensitivity around contract and execution risk following recent Space Force-related program uncertainty, with a fresh layer of “event risk” as the company’s CFO transition becomes effective today. With AVAV’s valuation and expectations still elevated after the BlueHalo deal, even non-financial headlines can pressure the stock when sentiment is fragile.

Details:

The company announced a CFO transition in which Sean T. Woodward becomes Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer effective May 1, 2026, as part of a planned leadership change.

The CFO change was disclosed in a Form 8-K, including compensation and equity-award details tied to multi-year performance metrics.

Earlier this year, the company disclosed a government stop-work action affecting work under a BADGER/SCAR-related program, which introduced uncertainty around timing and contract terms.

Separately, analyst commentary in recent months has focused on the risk that the Space Force’s SCAR program could be re-competed, which could weigh on backlog visibility and near-term narrative momentum.

Sources:

AeroVironment Investor Relations, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Stock Titan, 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 13 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 0 have been purchases and 13 have been sales.

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

KEVIN PATRICK MCDONNELL (CFO) has made 0 purchases and 5 sales selling 3,298 shares for an estimated $988,841.
STEPHEN F PAGE has made 0 purchases and 6 sales selling 2,500 shares for an estimated $751,297.
BRIAN CHARLES SHACKLEY (Chief Accounting Officer) has made 0 purchases and 2 sales selling 400 shares for an estimated $92,688.

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.

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$AVAV Hedge Fund Activity

We have seen 362 institutional investors add shares of $AVAV stock to their portfolio, and 264 decrease their positions in their most recent quarter.

Here are some of the largest recent moves:

BLACKROCK, INC. added 857,091 shares (+17.8%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $207,321,741
BAILLIE GIFFORD & CO removed 603,868 shares (-33.9%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $146,069,630
UBS GROUP AG added 318,991 shares (+104.6%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $77,160,732
CIBC PRIVATE WEALTH GROUP LLC removed 312,370 shares (-98.9%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $75,559,179
BNP PARIBAS FINANCIAL MARKETS added 277,544 shares (+2286.0%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $67,135,118
1832 ASSET MANAGEMENT L.P. removed 264,600 shares (-100.0%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $64,004,094
MARSHALL WACE, LLP added 254,864 shares (+4770.1%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $61,649,052

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.

$AVAV Government Contracts

We have seen $415,201,437 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:

LOW ALTITUDE STALKING AND STRIKE ORDNANCE (LASSO). ALL DELIVERABLE AND WORK SHALL BE PERFORMED IN ACCORDANC...: $39,105,986
PUMA AE 3, PUMA LE, PUMA ACCESSORIES, ERA, PUMA SOFTWARE UPDATE KIT, CONTRACTOR LOGISTICS SUPPORTS SERVICES...: $26,236,824
SUAS HURRICANE DRONES: $23,227,886
FIELD SERVICES REPRESENTATIVES (FSR) SUPPORT UNDER STATEMENT OF WORK SECTION 3.15.4.: $8,187,460

To track government contracts to publicy traded companies, check out Quiver Quantitative's government contracts dashboard.

$AVAV Congressional Stock Trading

Members of Congress have traded $AVAV stock 3 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 3 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 3 times. They made 3 purchases worth up to $45,000 on 03/03, 01/27, 12/15 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.

$AVAV Analyst Ratings

Wall Street analysts have issued reports on $AVAV in the last several months. We have seen 5 firms issue buy ratings on the stock, and 0 firms issue sell ratings.

Here are some recent analyst ratings:

Piper Sandler issued a "Overweight" rating on 03/03/2026
JP Morgan issued a "Overweight" rating on 02/17/2026
Keybanc issued a "Overweight" rating on 12/19/2025
Canaccord Genuity issued a "Buy" rating on 12/10/2025
BTIG issued a "Buy" rating on 11/24/2025

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 15 analysts offer price targets for $AVAV in the last 6 months, with a median target of $315.0.

Here are some recent targets:

Andre Madrid from BTIG set a target price of $330.0 on 03/12/2026
Greg Konrad from Jefferies set a target price of $305.0 on 03/12/2026
Austin Moeller from Canaccord Genuity set a target price of $300.0 on 03/12/2026
Peter Arment from Baird set a target price of $235.0 on 03/11/2026
Trevor Walsh from Citizens set a target price of $350.0 on 03/11/2026
Austin Bohlig from Needham set a target price of $400.0 on 03/11/2026
Ken Herbert from RBC Capital set a target price of $250.0 on 03/11/2026

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.