Joby Aviation (NYSE:JOBY) stock is in the green following an almost $200,000 insider purchase by CEO and Chief Architect JoeBen Bevirt. Earlier this year, the company received one of three certifications from the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) in order to operate “on-demand commercial air taxi operations.” Ultimately, Joby has a goal of launching its electric air ride-sharing service commercially by 2024. The two other certifications that Joby needs to commercially operate its electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles (eVTOLs) are the Type and Production certificates. Currently, the company has built two prototype eVTOLs, although an initial deployment date has not been disclosed.
Joby also has plans to launch in South Korea, although it is still seeking certification from the South Korea government.
However, Bevirt seems to have confidence in his company, as evident by his recent JOBY stock purchase. Let’s get into the details.
JOBY Stock: CEO JoeBen Bevirt Buys Shares
On July 21, Bevirt purchased 35,000 shares of JOBY at an average price of $5.53 per share. These share were purchased through the Joby Trust, of which Bevirt has “voting and dispositive power” of the shares held. After the transaction, Bevirt now owns 85,000 shares directly and 98.94 million shares indirectly through various trusts and his spouse, classifying him as a 10% stakeholder. Bevirt is also the largest shareholder of the company.
Besides the CEO, only one other insider has purchased shares this year. On May 27, Director Paul Sciarra purchased 55,137 shares at an average price of $5.67 per share.
Furthermore, in the past year, insiders have sold 188.79 million shares and bought 313.87 million shares. In total, insiders have accounted for a net activity of 125.08 million shares purchased.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at who else is betting big on the air taxi company.
Joby Aviation’s Top Five Shareholders
Tracking institutional activity is important, as these large shareholders provide liquidity and support for stocks. During the first quarter of 2022, 126 funds reported owning JOBY, an increase of 12 funds from the prior quarter. Meanwhile, the institutional put/call (P/C) ratio sits at a paltry 0.39, up from 0.29 during Q4. While higher, the ratio signifies that funds own more call options against the company than put options by a wide margin. So, who are Joby’s top investors?
- JoeBen Bevirt: 99.02 million shares.
- Toyota (NYSE:TM): 78.75 million shares. Toyota’s position is accurate as of the third quarter of 2021.
- Paul Sciarra: 60.25 million shares.
- Intel (NASDAQ:INTC): 46.04 million shares.
- TIF Partners: 38.88 million shares. TIF’s position is accurate as of Q3 of 2021.
On the date of publication, Eddie Pan did not hold (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.
