Joby Aviation (NYSE:JOBY) Stock Price Up 2.6% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Joby Aviation's stock price rose by 2.6% to $18.26, with trading volume significantly increasing by 50% compared to the average daily volume.
• Recent analyst downgrades include a reduction from "buy" to "hold" by Canaccord Genuity, and a consensus rating of "Reduce" with a price target of $10.50.
• Institutional investors have shown increased interest, with Toyota Motor Corp boosting its holdings by 63.1%, now owning over 128 million shares of Joby Aviation.

Joby Aviation, Inc. (NYSE:JOBY - Get Free Report) rose 2.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $18.59 and last traded at $18.26. Approximately 35,746,943 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 50% from the average daily volume of 23,857,727 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.80.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JOBY has been the subject of several recent research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded Joby Aviation from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their price target for the company from $12.00 to $17.00 in a report on Thursday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Joby Aviation from $5.00 to $7.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Joby Aviation from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. HC Wainwright downgraded shares of Joby Aviation from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Joby Aviation in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Joby Aviation has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $10.50.

Joby Aviation Trading Up 2.6%

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.95. The company has a market cap of $15.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.06 and a beta of 2.52.

Joby Aviation (NYSE:JOBY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.24) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $0.02 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.05 million. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 94.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.18) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Joby Aviation, Inc. will post -0.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Eric Allison sold 6,715 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.78, for a total value of $112,677.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 666,416 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,182,460.48. This represents a 1.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Joeben Bevirt sold 32,284 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.78, for a total value of $541,725.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 249,587 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,188,069.86. This trade represents a 11.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,330,881 shares of company stock worth $33,997,315. Company insiders own 28.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Joby Aviation

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Toyota Motor Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Joby Aviation by 63.1% during the second quarter. Toyota Motor Corp now owns 128,454,401 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,355,194,000 after purchasing an additional 49,701,790 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Joby Aviation by 5.4% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,109,935 shares of the company's stock valued at $117,230,000 after buying an additional 573,328 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Joby Aviation by 3.0% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,392,018 shares of the company's stock valued at $109,636,000 after buying an additional 305,109 shares in the last quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. lifted its stake in Joby Aviation by 58.2% during the second quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. now owns 7,205,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $76,013,000 after buying an additional 2,650,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Joby Aviation by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 3,507,405 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,003,000 after acquiring an additional 64,562 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.85% of the company's stock.

About Joby Aviation

Joby Aviation, Inc, a vertically integrated air mobility company, engages in building an electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft optimized to deliver air transportation as a service. The company intends to build an aerial ridesharing service, as well as developing an application-based platform that will enable consumers to book rides.

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