Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest Loads Up On AeroVironment Amid Fresh Defense Deals And Record Backlog

• ARK Invest bought 29,016 AeroVironment shares through ARKQ and ARKX, worth over $4.4 million. 
• The purchases came alongside a Nominal partnership and strong Q1 results, including record revenue and a $1.5 billion backlog. 
• AeroVironment’s BlueHalo unit has secured a nearly $100 million Air Force contract. 

AeroVironment Inc. (AVAV) stock is on track for a monthly rebound as Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest adds to its position, showing confidence in the defense technology maker’s autonomous systems. The buying comes as AeroVironment expands its technology partnerships, wins a nearly $100 million Air Force contract and builds a record backlog. 

AeroVironment stock edged 0.5% lower overnight, ahead of Tuesday. The stock is on track to reverse three straight months of losses, with a 3% gain so far in September.

AeroVironment Lands Fresh ARK Buying 

On Monday, ARK Invest added to its AeroVironment position through two exchange-traded funds. The ARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF (ARKQ) bought 13,327 shares, while the ARK Space Exploration & Innovation ETF (ARKX) added another 15,689 shares. Together, the two funds purchased 29,016 AVAV shares, potentially worth over $4.4 million. 

The purchases accounted for 0.1081% of ARKQ’s holdings traded and 0.3200% of ARKX’s transactions. AeroVironment sits at the intersection of several themes that ARK has targeted, including robotics, artificial intelligence, aerospace and autonomous systems. The company develops unmanned aircraft and other defense technologies that have become important as militaries expand their use of automated systems.

The ARK purchase coincided with engineering-data platform Nominal’s partnership with AeroVironment to bring test and production data capture, cross-team review and traceability into a single system as the company scales manufacturing of its uncrewed aircraft, loitering munitions and counter-UAS systems across multiple facilities. 

The buying also comes after AeroVironment delivered a strong fiscal first quarter (Q1) 2027. The defense contractor generated record revenue of $480.5 million, a 6% increase from a year earlier, while bookings reached roughly $700 million.

AeroVironment’s Backlog Hits Record

Strong orders pushed AeroVironment’s funded backlog to $1.5 billion, up 37% year-on-year. The company also reported a much smaller net loss of $5.1 million, compared with a $67.4 million loss last year.

AeroVironment secured a nearly $465 million U.S. Army contract for its LOCUST laser system and landed its first international LOCUST order, worth more than $50 million. CEO Wahid Nawabi said demand is building for affordable laser defenses against drone swarms, noting LOCUST shots cost under $10 apiece — a cost structure he said "redefines the balance between offensive and defensive systems." 

Last week,  AeroVironment subsidiary BlueHalo LLC was awarded nearly a $100 million Air Force contract for the Leveraged Orbital Battlespace Optimization program, covering research and development work in Huntsville, Alabama, and at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico. 

AVAV Stock: Retail View 

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around the stock remained in ‘extremely bullish’ territory even as it has lagged peers and major indices this year. 

A user said, “Bought at 140 last week. This will be a solid hold.”

AVAV stock has cratered 38% year-to-date. 

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