It has been a fantastic year for Archer Aviation (NYSE:ACHR), as shares have surged higher by more than 200% so far this year. ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood has also taken a particular liking to the electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) company; Wood reported purchasing 2.694 million shares of ACHR stock yesterday despite a short report from Grizzly Research. ARK Invest also participated in the company’s recent private investment in public equity (PIPE) funding round, along with other names like United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) and Boeing (NYSE:BA).
“At Archer, we’re investing in changing the future of mobility, and we’re focused on building a sustainable business with huge growth potential […] You have to align yourself with investors who understand that and think long-term,” said co-founder and CEO Adam Goldstein. “I couldn’t be prouder of the investors who participated in this round as they truly understand and embrace that.”
However, Grizzly takes issue with the recent PIPE. The short seller noted in its recent report:
“In reality, ACHR dished out $100M in free warrants for a $12,000,000 investment by Boeing, diluted shareholders by 25%, and must now purchase key tech from a competitor.”
Grizzly also accused Archer of manipulating flight test videos in order to appear as if it were conducting flights more frequently and for longer periods of time. On top of that, Grizzly believes that Archer issued millions of shares to United Airlines and Stellantis (NYSE:STLA) for “questionable or no compensation” in order to increase its reputation.
5 Investors Betting Big on ACHR Stock in Q2
Tracking institutional ownership is important, as these large investors provide liquidity and support for stocks. During the second quarter, 135 13F filers disclosed a stake in ACHR stock, an increase of three filers from the prior quarter. In total, these filers own 78.60 million shares, up by 11.81% from 70.30 million shares during Q1. Among just hedge funds, total shares owned increased by 23.91% to 28.97 million.
Meanwhile, the Q2 institutional put/call ratio for Archer tallied in at 0.49, up from 0.23. That’s equivalent to 782,000 puts and 1.59 million calls, implying a bullish options stance. With that in mind, let’s take a look at Archer’s largest shareholders as of Q2:
- Stellantis: 21.48 million shares. Stellantis acquired 7.58 million shares during the second quarter.
- BlackRock (NYSE:BLK): 12.66 million shares. BlackRock acquired 782,452 shares during Q2.
- Brett Adcock, co-founder: 12.60 million shares. Adcock sold off 3.86 million shares during Q2.
- ARK Invest: 9.16 million shares. ARK acquired 361,597 shares during Q2.
- Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings: 7.60 million shares. Sumitomo acquired 475,012 shares during Q2.
On the date of publication, Eddie Pan did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
