NEW YORK, January 4, 2026, 05:46 ET — Market closed.
Archer Aviation Inc shares closed up 8.1% at $8.13 on Friday, the first U.S. trading session of 2026, after swinging sharply higher through the day.
The move put fresh attention on electric air-taxi developers, a corner of the market where sentiment can turn quickly on funding needs and the pace of regulatory sign-offs. Archer and its rivals are still in development mode, so traders often latch onto any signal around capital, timelines or insider activity.
That sensitivity was in focus late Friday after an executive filed a notice that can precede stock sales, even as the shares ended the session higher.
The stock traded between $7.51 and $8.20 on Friday and logged about 45.2 million shares in volume, market data showed.
A Form 144 filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission showed Archer Chief Technology Officer Tom Muniz planned the potential sale of up to 125,000 Class A shares, with an aggregate market value of about $1 million.
Form 144 is a notice required when an affiliate of a company intends to sell restricted or “control” securities under Rule 144. The filing does not mean a sale has already occurred, and executives often sell for diversification or tax-related reasons.
Archer’s jump came alongside gains in other air-taxi names. Joby Aviation rose about 8.8% and Vertical Aerospace added roughly 9.7% in the last session.
Archer is developing an electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, or eVTOL, designed for short urban trips. Investors have treated the group as a high-beta bet on when certification and early commercial operations begin to translate into recurring revenue.
Before Monday’s session, traders will be watching whether Archer holds above the $7.50 area — near Friday’s low — after the stock’s sharp move to start the year. A push back through the $8.20 area would leave the session high as the next nearby reference point.
Macro data may also set the tone for speculative growth stocks in the week ahead. Investors are set to parse the December U.S. employment report on Friday, January 9, with inflation data for December due on Tuesday, January 13, while the Federal Reserve’s next policy meeting is scheduled for January 27–28.
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