NEW YORK, Jan 3, 2026, 18:20 ET — Market closed
- Archer Aviation ended Friday up about 8.4% at $8.13, outperforming broader U.S. benchmarks.
- A new SEC filing showed an Archer officer plans to sell up to 125,000 shares.
- Traders turn to U.S. data next week and a late-February earnings window on market calendars.
Archer Aviation Inc shares ended Friday up about 8.4% at $8.13, after swinging between $7.51 and $8.20. Roughly 45 million shares changed hands.
The move matters now because early-stage “advanced air mobility” stocks tend to trade on shifts in risk appetite as much as company-specific headlines. Smaller-growth names broadly caught a bid, with the Russell 2000 tracker IWM up about 1.1%, while SPY edged higher and QQQ dipped.
Other electric air taxi developers advanced alongside Archer. Joby Aviation rose about 8.8%, Eve Holding gained about 4.8% and EHang climbed about 9.6%.
Traders are still treating the group as a high-beta corner of aerospace, where timelines for certification, testing and initial routes can quickly shift sentiment.
A filing on Friday showed Archer officer Thomas Muniz filed a Form 144 to sell up to 125,000 Class A shares, listing an aggregate market value of $1 million. Form 144 is an SEC notice used by affiliates to signal an intent to sell restricted or “control” securities under Rule 144; it does not guarantee a sale will occur. 1
The Form 144 said the shares were acquired through restricted stock vesting as compensation in May 2024, and listed an approximate sale date of Jan. 2. The filing also reported a prior sale of 90,648 shares on Nov. 17, 2025. 1
Investors continue to focus on the policy and regulatory runway for electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, or eVTOLs — battery-powered aircraft designed to lift off like a helicopter. In a Dec. 17 press release tied to the U.S. eVTOL Integration Pilot Program, CEO Adam Goldstein said: “We’re past the question of ‘if’ and firmly into ‘when and how.’” 2
That release said the FAA is expected to review early applications for the program and announce selections in early to mid-2026, a timeline traders see as one of the nearer policy checkpoints for the sector. 2
Before the next session on Monday, traders will watch the Institute for Supply Management’s Manufacturing PMI report, due at 10:00 a.m. ET, which can move rate expectations and the appetite for high-risk growth stocks. 3
The U.S. Employment Situation report for December is scheduled for Jan. 9, and the Fed’s next policy meeting is set for Jan. 27-28, according to official calendars. Philadelphia Fed President Anna Paulson said on Saturday that further rate cuts may take a while, underscoring the market’s sensitivity to incoming data. 4
Archer has not announced the date for its next earnings report; market calendars currently point to late February. Nasdaq and Zacks list Feb. 26 as the current estimate. 5
On the chart, Friday’s low near $7.51 and high around $8.20 set the nearest support and resistance levels heading into Monday’s open. Without fresh company news, traders often treat moves in ACHR as a proxy for broader risk sentiment in the emerging air-taxi trade.
