Joby Aviation Draws Mixed Analyst Calls on Valuation, FAA Progress

Electric air-taxi developer Joby Aviation drew conflicting views from Wall Street analysts on 7 Aug, a day after it reported second-quarter results. Needham & Co. analyst Chris Pierce reiterated a Buy recommendation and doubled his price target to $22, pointing to continued advances in the company’s electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing technology and progress toward U.S. Federal Aviation Administration certification. Canaccord Genuity adopted a more cautious stance, with analyst Austin Moeller lowering his rating to Hold from Buy even as he lifted his price objective to $17 from $12, citing what he called a “challenging” valuation. H.C. Wainwright also shifted to Neutral, warning that commercialization hurdles could temper near-term upside. The split opinions underscore the debate over how quickly Joby can turn successful test flights into profitable passenger service.