Archer Aviation (NYSE:ACHR) Stock Falls 5% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Archer Aviation shares fell 5% to about $4.46 in mid-day trading, below both the 50-day and 200-day moving averages near $5.6.
• Despite the decline, analysts maintain a generally positive outlook: six rate the stock Buy, two Hold and one Sell, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $11.
• The company matched quarterly EPS expectations at a loss of $0.34 while revenue of $5 million exceeded estimates; however, insiders sold 176,657 shares worth roughly $1.12 million last quarter, including sales under a tax-withholding arrangement and a 10b5-1 plan.

Archer Aviation Inc. (NYSE:ACHR - Get Free Report) dropped 5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as low as $4.44 and last traded at $4.4550. Approximately 23,877,167 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 33% from the average daily volume of 35,825,121 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.69.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ACHR. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Archer Aviation in a report on Friday, July 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $11.00 target price on shares of Archer Aviation in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. UBS Group reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Archer Aviation in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $18.00 target price on shares of Archer Aviation in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Archer Aviation in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $11.00.

Archer Aviation Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.12 and a beta of 3.27. The company has a current ratio of 10.21, a quick ratio of 10.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $5.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.56.

Archer Aviation (NYSE:ACHR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported ($0.34) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.34). The company had revenue of $5.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 million. On average, analysts expect that Archer Aviation Inc. will post -1.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Archer Aviation

In other news, CFO Priya Gupta sold 10,015 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.41, for a total transaction of $64,196.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 202,784 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,299,845.44. The trade was a 4.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Eric Lentell sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.31, for a total value of $631,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 85,011 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $536,419.41. The trade was a 54.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 176,657 shares of company stock worth $1,122,371 in the last quarter. 5.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Archer Aviation

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Alpine Global Management LLC increased its position in shares of Archer Aviation by 104.7% during the fourth quarter. Alpine Global Management LLC now owns 4,677,145 shares of the company's stock worth $35,172,000 after acquiring an additional 2,392,026 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Archer Aviation by 703.3% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,514,300 shares of the company's stock worth $12,999,000 after acquiring an additional 2,201,300 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Archer Aviation in the second quarter valued at about $10,190,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Archer Aviation by 33.2% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,136,942 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,048,000 after purchasing an additional 532,762 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its stake in Archer Aviation by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,221,700 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,316,000 after purchasing an additional 4,400 shares in the last quarter. 59.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Archer Aviation

Archer Aviation Inc is an aerospace company developing electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for urban air mobility. Its goal is to provide quieter, lower-emission transportation for short passenger trips, including airport transfers and travel between urban and suburban locations.

The company's primary aircraft is Midnight, a piloted, four-passenger eVTOL aircraft designed for frequent short-distance flights. Archer has also developed Maker, a smaller technology demonstrator used to test its electric propulsion, flight-control and other aircraft systems.

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