Things could be looking up for the defense tech firm
AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) shares are up 6% to trade at $149.33 after the company reported fiscal first-quarter earnings and revenue that surpassed Wall Street's estimates. In response, Needham reaffirmed its "buy" rating, while J.P. Morgan and UBS lifted their price targets to $210 and $170, respectively.
The equity has struggled for much of 2026, with shares down 37.7% year to date. The $200 level has provided resistance since early July, with the stock's most recent breakout attempt rejected by the 160-day moving average.
AVAV sports a 50-day call/put volume ratio of 3.35 on the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). This ratio stands higher than 82% of all other readings from the past year, hinting at a much healthier-than-usual appetite for bearish bets over bullish of late.
Today is much more the same. So far 16,000 calls have changed hands which is nearly double the amount of puts traded and 13 times the average intraday amount. The weekly 9/11 160 call is the most popular, followed by the 155 call in the same series, with new positions opening at both.
It's worth noting that AeroVironment's Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) sits at a high 98 out of 100, indicating the stock has tended to exceed option traders' volatility expectations during the past year.