Joby Aviation (NYSE:JOBY) Sees Large Volume Increase – Still a Buy?

Joby Aviation, Inc. (NYSE:JOBY) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 4,208,643 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 53% from the previous session’s volume of 8,874,433 shares.The stock last traded at $8.46 and had previously closed at $8.26.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on JOBY shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Joby Aviation from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on Joby Aviation from $10.50 to $9.75 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on Joby Aviation in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $8.00 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $9.00 price target on shares of Joby Aviation in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $10.00 price objective on shares of Joby Aviation in a report on Monday, September 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $8.35.

Joby Aviation Price Performance

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.92. The company has a market capitalization of $6.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.76 and a beta of 2.32.

Joby Aviation (NYSE:JOBY) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.21) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.19) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $0.28 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $0.06 million. Joby Aviation had a negative net margin of 42,844.57% and a negative return on equity of 51.76%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.13) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Joby Aviation, Inc. will post -0.69 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Matthew Field sold 11,764 shares of Joby Aviation stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.78, for a total value of $67,995.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 298,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,726,983.08. This trade represents a 3.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Joeben Bevirt sold 250,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.85, for a total value of $1,212,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,674,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $158,470,228.90. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 508,731 shares of company stock valued at $2,621,909. 32.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Joby Aviation

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JOBY. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Joby Aviation by 41.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,474,677 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,521,000 after acquiring an additional 435,069 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Joby Aviation by 59.6% during the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 54,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 20,280 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Joby Aviation by 67.1% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 102,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $522,000 after purchasing an additional 41,128 shares in the last quarter. Flaharty Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Joby Aviation by 25.0% in the second quarter. Flaharty Asset Management LLC now owns 15,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Joby Aviation during the 2nd quarter worth about $101,000. 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.