New York, Feb 8, 2026, 09:01 EST — Market closed
- Archer Aviation ended Friday at $7.30, rallying 12.5% on heavy trading.
- Smaller, riskier stocks drew investors, while tech lagged.
- Feb. 11 brings U.S. jobs numbers; inflation data drops Feb. 13, and both are circled dates for traders.
Archer Aviation Inc climbed 12.5% to close at $7.30 Friday. Shares moved between $6.45 and $7.37 during the session; trading volume hit about 50.5 million shares.
After recent setbacks in big tech and software, money is shifting into smaller, cheaper companies. That move sparked a pop in small caps Friday. “The selloff in the names that carried markets higher may have paused, but we’re instead seeing a wave of aggressive buying of altogether different stocks,” Tim Murray, capital markets strategist at T. Rowe Price, told Reuters. Reuters
Archer shares rose, following U.S.-listed air-taxi peers—Joby Aviation jumped nearly 11%, while Vertical Aerospace tacked on a similar 11%. The Russell 2000 ETF, tracking small caps, rallied roughly 3.6% for the day.
Archer’s stake in the spotlight again: Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment Management LLC reported ownership of 35,170,701 shares, or 5.40% of the company, via a Schedule 13G filed on Feb. 3. The filing, typical for investors with passive intent, landed with the SEC.
Archer’s investor relations site hasn’t posted any SEC filings since the Feb. 3 Schedule 13G. That remains the latest update.
Archer has its sights set on “Midnight,” an electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft—industry shorthand, eVTOL—built for brief air-taxi trips. The company struck a deal with Serbia in January; the country now has an option to buy up to 25 of these vehicles. But there’s a catch: Archer still needs to prove it can fly the full envelope, Needham analysts note. Reuters
The fundamentals haven’t budged despite the surge. Archer remains without revenue, and LSEG data on Reuters points to another sizable yearly loss.
The stock remains at the mercy of sentiment swings and the possibility of stricter financing conditions. Delays tied to certification or production may push timelines out again. A fresh funding round? That spells dilution, a recurring headache for younger aerospace firms.
With U.S. markets shut this Sunday, traders are left on hold, watching to find out whether the swings—sharp moves between nerves around pricey growth stocks and sudden bids for small caps—will roll into Monday once regular trading resumes.
Risk sentiment now turns to the macro calendar. The Labor Department’s January jobs report hits at 8:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Feb. 11. Two days later—Friday, Feb. 13—the Bureau of Labor Statistics will release January’s Consumer Price Index, same time. Details are up at bls.gov.
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