Archer Aviation downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan

JPMorgan downgraded Archer Aviation (ACHR) to Neutral from Overweight with a price target of $9, up from $6. While the stock is “marginally more de-risked” than the 2023 period, the shares are trading as though type certification has already been successfully completed, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm believes Archer’s fundamental story appears to be largely unchanged and “still mostly binary” hinging on certification, with the exception of market opportunity expansion with the company’s recent hybrid vertical take-off and landing partnership announcement with defense tech company Anduril. The downgrade reflects JPMorgan attempting to balance the near-term relative outperformance with its expectations that the shares may potentially retreat once “Trump 2.0 impacts and volatility are further digested.”