Archer Aviation (ACHR) Stock Jumps 6% on Institutional Buy and Regulatory Progress

TLDR

• Seven Grand Managers LLC bought 3 million ACHR shares worth ~$22.56 million in Q4
• Stock opened at $6.53 Thursday, up ~6.56% on the day
• Archer reported Q1 EPS of -$0.28, missing the -$0.25 estimate; revenue came in at $1.60M vs $1.66M expected
• FAA certification progress and UAE air taxi approval program entry are boosting sentiment
• Consensus analyst rating is “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $11.83

Archer Aviation (ACHR) jumped 6.56% on Thursday, opening at $6.53, after Seven Grand Managers LLC disclosed a new 3-million-share position in the eVTOL company worth approximately $22.56 million.

Archer Aviation Inc., ACHR

The stake represents about 0.46% of the company and is the fund’s 17th largest holding. It accounts for roughly 1.7% of Seven Grand Managers’ total portfolio.

The move comes despite a mixed Q1 earnings report released May 11. Archer posted an EPS loss of $0.28, wider than the expected $0.25 loss. Revenue came in at $1.60 million, just below the $1.66 million consensus estimate.

That’s a steeper loss compared to the same period last year, when the company reported EPS of -$0.17. Analysts expect a full-year EPS of -$1.51 for the current fiscal year.

Still, investors appear more focused on the regulatory picture than the numbers.

FAA and UAE Progress Driving Sentiment

Archer has been making headway on FAA certification and recently entered the UAE’s air taxi approval program. Both developments are seen as concrete steps toward commercial operations.

Those milestones are giving bulls something to work with, even as the financials remain deeply negative.

Institutional ownership currently stands at 59.34% of the company. Other funds have also been adding exposure — Bank of Jackson Hole Trust raised its position by 45.9% in Q3, and Center for Financial Planning lifted its stake by 138.8% in the same period.

Insiders Selling Into the Rally

Not everyone is buying. Insiders have been active sellers over the past 90 days, offloading 502,739 shares worth approximately $3.12 million.

CAO Harsh Rungta sold 22,826 shares at $6.46 each on March 5, reducing his position by 25.86%. Insider Eric Lentell sold 48,169 shares at $5.95 on May 18, also cutting his holding by around 25%. Both sales were tied to tax withholding on vesting equity awards.

Company insiders collectively own 7.65% of the stock.

On the analyst side, the picture is mixed. Canaccord Genuity trimmed its price target from $13 to $12 on May 12 while keeping a “buy” rating. Needham cut its target from $10 to $9 on March 3, also maintaining “buy.” Weiss Ratings has a “sell” rating on the stock.

The consensus sits at “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $11.83 — well above the current trading level.

ACHR’s 12-month range is $4.80 to $14.62. Its 50-day moving average is $5.87, and its 200-day moving average is $7.05. The stock has a beta of 3.13, reflecting its volatility.

The company has a current ratio of 18.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of just 0.06, suggesting it’s not heavily leveraged.

Year-to-date, ACHR is down about 12.90%, though Thursday’s move is one of its stronger single-day gains in recent weeks.

The stock’s market cap sits at approximately $4.94 billion.

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