Joby Aviation (NYSE:JOBY) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Joby Aviation, Inc. (NYSE:JOBY) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday . 75,519,778 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 140% from the previous session’s volume of 31,471,744 shares.The stock last traded at $7.2850 and had previously closed at $7.34.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Joby Aviation from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Joby Aviation from $15.00 to $13.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Joby Aviation from $15.50 to $11.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Joby Aviation from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, May 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of Joby Aviation in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Joby Aviation has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $13.64.

Joby Aviation Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $7.15 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.32 and a beta of 2.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 22.06 and a quick ratio of 22.05. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.35.

Joby Aviation (NYSE:JOBY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.21) by $0.09. Joby Aviation had a negative net margin of 1,232.62% and a negative return on equity of 60.54%. The business had revenue of $24.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.17 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.11) EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Joby Aviation, Inc. will post -0.83 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Joby Aviation

In other news, CEO Joeben Bevirt sold 15,788 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.92, for a total transaction of $140,828.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 239,671 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,137,865.32. This represents a 6.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Kate Dehoff sold 14,240 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.73, for a total value of $110,075.20. Following the sale, the insider owned 180,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,392,783.67. This represents a 7.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 1,125,580 shares of company stock valued at $12,172,117 over the last three months. Company insiders own 28.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Joby Aviation by 110.5% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 85,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $512,000 after acquiring an additional 44,659 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Joby Aviation during the first quarter valued at about $273,000. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Joby Aviation during the first quarter valued at about $37,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of Joby Aviation by 16.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 64,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $676,000 after purchasing an additional 8,840 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Joby Aviation by 80.1% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 750,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,920,000 after purchasing an additional 333,995 shares during the last quarter. 52.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Joby Aviation Company Profile

Joby Aviation Inc is an aerospace company focused on developing electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for urban air mobility. The company’s core mission is to provide zero-emission aerial ridesharing services, combining the speed of helicopters with the cost efficiency and environmental benefits of electric propulsion. Joby’s eVTOL design emphasizes low noise profiles and high reliability, positioning the company to address congestion challenges in major metropolitan areas.

The company’s flagship aircraft is designed to carry a pilot and up to four passengers, offering point-to-point travel at speeds competitive with ground transportation.