Aevex Stock Rebounds After RBC Calls Tuesday's Sell-Off A ‘Buying Opportunity’

• Jefferies maintained ‘Buy’ and its $26 price target, arguing that the sell-off implied more damage to BlackSea’s outlook than was justified.
• Piper Sandler lowered its target to $13 from $20 and maintained ‘Neutral’, citing uncertainty over BlackSea’s growth pipeline as sustainment revenue in its $110 million funded backlog runs off in mid-2027.
• Oppenheimer initiated coverage with an ‘Outperform’ rating and a $21 price target.

Aevex Corp. (AVEX) shares drew investor attention on Thursday after multiple analysts weighed in following Tuesday’s Bloomberg report that the U.S. Navy had halted new purchases of the company’s autonomous speedboats.

According to The Fly, RBC Capital called Wednesday’s sell-off a “buying opportunity,” while Jefferies argued that the decline implied a significantly broader impairment to BlackSea’s financial and operational outlook than was justified. BlackSea, which Aevex acquired in September and now operates as its Maritime Systems division, is an important part of the company’s expansion into maritime autonomous systems. 

Read Next

PEP Stock Gains After PepsiCo Locks In 11 More Years With Taco Bell Following KFC Loss To Coke

Heera Hari

Aevex disputed Bloomberg’s report, saying it contained material inaccuracies.

AVEX shares traded 7% higher at the time of writing, rebounding after plunging 32.5% in the previous session to a record low of $9.64.

RBC, Jefferies And Piper Sandler Assess BlackSea’s Outlook

According to The Fly, RBC Capital analyst Ken Herbert lowered his price target on Aevex to $22 from $26 while maintaining an ‘Outperform’ rating. Herbert said RBC’s expectations for BlackSea remained unchanged.

Jefferies analyst Sheila Kahyaoglu maintained a ‘Buy’ rating and $26 price target. While the Bloomberg report raised questions about Global Autonomous Reconnaissance Craft’s (GARC) longer-term competitive positioning, she argued that the market reaction overstated the potential damage to BlackSea’s financial and operational outlook.

Piper Sandler lowered its price target to $13 from $20 and maintained a ‘Neutral’ rating, according to The Fly. The firm questioned whether BlackSea had a sufficiently large pipeline to sustain growth beyond its 2026 revenue base.

Piper said that, regardless of whether GARC met the Navy’s requirements, a key concern was the remaining sustainment revenue in BlackSea’s $110 million funded backlog, which was expected to run off in mid-2027.

Oppenheimer Sees Growth Beyond Current Programs

Oppenheimer initiated coverage of Aevex with an ‘Outperform’ rating and a $21 price target, describing the company as one of the most concentrated public-market plays on affordable autonomous mass.

The firm noted that unmanned systems accounted for about 87% of Aevex’s first-half 2026 revenue and that more than 9,300 strike systems had been delivered or committed under the Phoenix Ghost and Deep Strike programs.

Oppenheimer forecast revenue of $764 million in 2026, up 76%, and $834 million in 2027 as BlackSea offsets the roll-off of Deep Strike. The firm called 2027 a “proof year,” saying a single production award could reframe the investment story.

How Retail Views AVEX

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around AVEX stock jumped from ‘neutral’ to ‘extremely bullish’ territory over the past 24 hours, while message volume rose from ‘high’ to ‘extremely high levels’.

One Stocktwits user said the pullback could offer an entry point for investors who missed the previous session’s lower price, while clarifying that the comment reflected their personal opinion.

AVEX shares have dropped over 49% year-to-date.

Editors Note: This copy has been updated to correct the section on GARC’s longer-term competitive positioning, revise the headline to specify that RBC’s ‘buying opportunity’ call referred to Tuesday’s sell-off, and correct the Bloomberg report date from Wednesday to Tuesday.

Also read: Critical Metals’ Merger Gets Strong Backing From European Lithium Shareholders – Here’s What Comes Next

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.