Investors may be cooling on electric vehicles, but that doesn’t mean they’re souring on all things electric. Interest in flying car stocks continues to grow. As the name implies, these electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles (eVTOLs) can take off and land in a vertical orientation which creates many use cases that will allow these companies to carve out an important niche.
As of February, several companies are close to making flying cars a reality. But there are still safety and regulatory hurdles that must be met before revenue and earnings will take off.
That’s why these are still speculative stocks. But there’s more than hype underpinning these stocks. As you’ll see several companies are testing prototypes. Plus, there’s room for more than one winner as EVTOLs become mainstream in coming years.
All of this is to say that the payoff on these stocks may be several years away. And many investors may be staying away from speculative stocks in the current market environment. But if you’re putting together a watchlist, here are three flying car stocks that you may want to consider for their millionaire-making potential.
Joby Aviation (JOBY)
When you’re considering investing in flying car stocks, being first to market is an important consideration. On February 21, Joby Aviation (NYSE:JOBY) was the first developer of eVTOLs to complete the third stage of the Federal Aviation Administration’s five-stage type certification process.
This comes on the heels of the company completing the second stage in December 2023. That included a series of air traffic simulations that are a critical part of flying car adoption. That’s because the FAA needs to understand how these “flying taxis” will fit into existing air traffic control systems.
This string of announcements puts the company firmly on track to begin operations in 2025. And compared to other players in the space, Joby has what may be considered a fortress-like balance sheet with $1 billion of cash on hand.
JOBY stock is off its high price after going public as part of a SPAC offering in 2021. And analysts are painting a mixed picture. On the one hand, the opinion of seven analysts is divided with three strong buys, two holds, and two strong sells. On the other hand, the consensus price target of $7.83 is 29.3% higher than the stock’s price on February 21.
Archer Aviation (ACHR)
If Joby Aviation is in the pole position when it comes to FAA certification, then Archer Aviation (NYSE:ACHR) is on the front row. This February, Archer has met two important milestones that will put it on the way to getting into the FAA certification process.
On February 7, the company announced that it has three conforming, piloted aircraft under construction. These will be the aircraft used for the FAA testing. Then on February 8, Archer received its Part 145 certification from the FAA which authorizes the company to perform specialized aircraft repair services which is a key requirement for being a commercial aviation business.
The news gets better. Archer already has presale orders and is building infrastructure in key U.S. markets, including New York and Los Angeles. All of this means that if Joby slips at all, Archer is well-positioned to capitalize.
And analysts seem to be even more bullish on ACHR stock. The consensus price target of $9.36 would be an 85.8% gain. And five of seven analysts give the stock a Strong Buy rating.
Vertical Aerospace (EVTL)
I included Vertical Aerospace (NYSE:EVTL) on a list of flying car stocks to consider in December 2023. This is a U.K. company that also has a prototype, the VX4 that has logged over 1,000 test flights and is pushing for FAA certification this year.
In February, Vertical Aerospace also received an additional $10 million from the U.K. government to develop its next generation propellers for the VX4. This brings the total commitment from the U.K. government to $47 million.
That being said, the company has some cash problems. In December 2023, it announced it only had funding through September 2024. Since then, the company’s founder and Chief Executive Officer Stephen Fitzpatrick has pledged to invest $50 million to extend the company’s cash runway into 2025.
Another concern is that the company is on the clock for getting its stock price above a dollar. The company received a delisting notice from the New York Stock Exchange.
But the company also has several notable investors including Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Boeing (NYSE:BA), and American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL). This makes it likely that it will make it across the finish line. And being priced under a dollar, investors could get an outsized reward for their risk.
On the date of publication, Chris Markoch did not have (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.
