What Happened?
Shares of aerospace and defense company AeroVironment (NASDAQ: AVAV) jumped 3.6% in the morning session after KeyBanc initiated coverage on the stock with an "Overweight" rating and a $285 price target. Analyst Michael Leshock set the target, which represented a potential 23% upside from the stock's previous price. In the research note, the firm cited AeroVironment's strong position in the defense technology and space growth sectors, along with its unique product offerings, as key reasons for the positive outlook. KeyBanc described the company as a high-quality defense technology leader operating within a strong macro backdrop. The move also occurred amid positive sentiment in the broader Aerospace & Defense sector.
After the initial pop the shares cooled down to $241.70, up 4.8% from previous close.
Is now the time to buy AeroVironment? Access our full analysis report here.
What Is The Market Telling Us
AeroVironment’s shares are very volatile and have had 26 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 9 days ago when the stock dropped 10.6% on the news that the company's third-quarter earnings badly missed Wall Street expectations and it lowered its full-year profit forecast.
While the company reported strong revenue of $472.5 million, a 151% jump year on year, its profits fell significantly short. AeroVironment posted adjusted earnings of $0.44 per share, missing the analysts' consensus forecast of $0.79. Profitability was a key issue, as the company's operating margin fell to negative 6.4% from 3.7% in the same quarter last year. Adding to investor concerns, management lowered its full-year adjusted earnings guidance to a midpoint of $3.47 per share, a 4.8% decrease. The combination of a substantial earnings miss and a reduced outlook overshadowed the robust sales growth.
AeroVironment is up 54.5% since the beginning of the year, but at $241.70 per share, it is still trading 41% below its 52-week high of $409.83 from October 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of AeroVironment’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $2,741.
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