Joby Aviation Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:JOBY)

Joby Aviation, Inc. (NYSE:JOBY) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 63,800 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 966% compared to the typical daily volume of 5,987 call options.

Joby Aviation Price Performance

Shares of JOBY stock opened at $5.61 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.38 and a beta of 1.97. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.22. Joby Aviation has a 1-year low of $4.50 and a 1-year high of $7.69.

Joby Aviation (NYSE:JOBY) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.18) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.18). The business had revenue of $0.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.28 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.17) earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Joby Aviation will post -0.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Joby Aviation

In other news, insider Didier Papadopoulos sold 6,025 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.33, for a total transaction of $32,113.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 47,474 shares in the company, valued at $253,036.42. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Joeben Bevirt sold 250,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 32,674,274 shares in the company, valued at $158,470,228.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Didier Papadopoulos sold 6,025 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.33, for a total value of $32,113.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 47,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $253,036.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 481,976 shares of company stock worth $2,424,045. Insiders own 32.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JOBY. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Joby Aviation by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,659,624 shares of the company’s stock valued at $185,776,000 after purchasing an additional 2,889,012 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in Joby Aviation in the 1st quarter valued at $15,357,000. Ieq Capital LLC raised its stake in Joby Aviation by 68.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 4,441,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,652,000 after purchasing an additional 1,807,054 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC grew its holdings in Joby Aviation by 1,018.5% in the 2nd quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 677,116 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,453,000 after buying an additional 616,579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Joby Aviation by 41.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,474,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,521,000 after buying an additional 435,069 shares in the last quarter. 45.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on JOBY. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $9.00 price objective on shares of Joby Aviation in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Joby Aviation from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $10.00 price objective on shares of Joby Aviation in a research report on Monday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on Joby Aviation from $11.00 to $10.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th.

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.