Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest Loads Up On Joby, Archer Aviation As Aerospace Bets Expand

• ARK Invest bought 1.16 million Archer shares for $4.5 million and 434,012 Joby shares for $2 million across two ETFs. 
• Archer Aviation plans to launch air taxi networks in Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Houston.
• Joby is advancing real-world air-taxi flights through an FAA program.   

Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest is doubling down on eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) stocks, buying more than 1.16 million Archer Aviation (ACHR) shares and 434,012 Joby Aviation (JOBY) shares as institutional interest in air taxis and defense aviation heats up.

While Archer Aviation shares edged up 0.3% overnight ahead of Tuesday, Joby Aviation stock inched 0.2% lower.  

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ARK Invest Adds $6.5M Of Archer, Joby Stocks 

The massive capital deployment across the ARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF (ARKQ) and ARK Space Exploration & Innovation ETF (ARKX) highlights Wood’s conviction that eVTOL technology is reaching an operational inflection point. Driven by expanding U.S. military logistics contracts and key FAA certification milestones, ARK is doubling down on market leaders scaling air taxi networks toward commercialization. 

ARK absorbed 781,854 Archer shares into ARKQ and 379,750 into ARKX, totaling 1,161,604 shares in a single session for $4.5 million, based on Monday’s closing price. It added 292,119 Joby shares via ARKQ and 141,893 via ARKX, bringing its total daily haul to 434,012 shares for $2 million. 

Archer’s Texas Air Taxi Network Plan And Joby’s FAA Program 

Last week, Archer laid out its plan to launch air taxi networks in Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston, connecting major airports, business districts and coastal destinations. Its all-electric Midnight aircraft aims to cut 60- to 90-minute drives to 10- to 20-minute flights. 

Archer is also expanding beyond air taxis through a deal to acquire three Boeing-owned aerospace and defense businesses in exchange for Boeing shares. The businesses include Wisk Aero, which develops electric air taxis, SkyGrid, which manages autonomous aircraft, and Insitu, which makes drones for surveillance and defense. 

Meanwhile, Joby has gained momentum following its active involvement in the FAA’s Electric Powered-lift Integration Program (eIPP). On Oct. 16, Morgan Stanley analyst Kristine Liwag trimmed JOBY’s price target to $10 from $13 but maintained an ‘Equal Weight’ rating, saying demand remains strong in the commercial aerospace and defense sectors despite weaker investor sentiment.  

ACHR, JOBY Stocks: Retail View 

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around JOBY stock remained ‘bearish,’ while sentiment around ACHR stock improved to ‘bullish’ from ‘neutral’ in the past 24 hours. 

ACHR and JOBY stocks have crashed 47% and 64%, respectively, year-to-date.  

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