Joby Aviation (NYSE:JOBY) Shares Gap Up - Should You Buy?

Joby Aviation, Inc. (NYSE:JOBY - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $6.70, but opened at $7.09. Joby Aviation shares last traded at $6.74, with a volume of 2,554,487 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JOBY has been the topic of a number of research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $9.00 target price on shares of Joby Aviation in a report on Thursday. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $9.00 target price on shares of Joby Aviation in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Joby Aviation from $6.00 to $5.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Joby Aviation from $9.75 to $11.50 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $10.00 price objective on shares of Joby Aviation in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Joby Aviation has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $8.90.

Joby Aviation Stock Performance

The stock's 50-day moving average is $8.14 and its 200 day moving average is $6.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.35 billion, a PE ratio of -9.99 and a beta of 2.33.

Insider Activity at Joby Aviation

In other Joby Aviation news, insider Didier Papadopoulos sold 7,692 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total transaction of $76,920.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 50,902 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $509,020. This trade represents a 13.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Joeben Bevirt sold 10,785 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.43, for a total transaction of $80,132.55. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 793,036 shares in the company, valued at $5,892,257.48. The trade was a 1.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,018,699 shares of company stock valued at $8,628,124 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 32.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Joby Aviation

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Toyota Motor Corp purchased a new position in Joby Aviation during the 4th quarter valued at about $640,259,000. Uber Technologies Inc purchased a new position in Joby Aviation during the 4th quarter valued at about $207,842,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Joby Aviation by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,760,562 shares of the company's stock valued at $380,163,000 after acquiring an additional 6,388,232 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Joby Aviation by 331.4% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,260,082 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,634,000 after acquiring an additional 3,272,597 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Joby Aviation by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 55,032,165 shares of the company's stock worth $447,412,000 after buying an additional 2,281,161 shares in the last quarter. 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.