What sent Joby Aviation (NASDAQ:JOBY) blasting up over 37% at the time of writing? A new certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration did that job and then some, as Joby could now test its production prototype and potentially bring the age of the air taxi service to our front doors.
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The FAA gave Joby Aviation what’s known as a Special Airworthiness Certificate, which allows it to be put through flight testing. With that, Joby notes, the aircraft in question will become the first-ever electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft to exist. Next year, it will then proceed to Edwards Air Force Base, where Joby will operate the eVTOL as part of a contract with the U.S. Air Force worth as much as $131 million. Commercial operations will start shortly thereafter, as Joby has already set up a contract with Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL).
The prototype in question, based on a report from Techcrunch, is actually the third such prototype. Its pre-production prototypes, however, have a combined 30,000 miles of flight distance on them, which will ultimately bring them that much closer to a full-type certification at the FAA. That serves as virtually full approval of the aircraft design and its component parts, which will go a long way toward getting it in full service and making commercial flights available.
Good news for Joby, and hedge funds are feeling the impact as well. In fact, hedge funds added another 683,900 shares of Joby Aviation stock to their holdings in the last quarter. Overall, hedge fund confidence is considered Positive. In fact, this is the first quarter in a year and a half that hedge funds have increased their holdings of Joby Aviation stock.
