The Motley Fool named the pros and cons of investing in air cab developer Archer

Quotes of small-cap air cab developer Archer Aviation have collapsed by nearly a quarter in the past two weeks, but could soar again as early as this year, accounts The Motley Fool. Risk-ready investors have an opportunity to make money by buying the company's stock before it reaches the all-important first-flight point, he believes. But most market participants will probably want to «stay on the sidelines» for now. 

Risk-averse investors should pay attention to Archer securities as long as they stay below their recent high of $13.3 (reached May 16), wrote The Motley Fool. At the close of trading on May 30, one share of the company was worth 24% below that mark at $10.09. At the premarket on June 2, the stock was down about 0.4%.

The developer is facing «extremely exciting» opportunities as its air cab is likely to begin first flights in 2025, The Motley Fool explained. This will almost inevitably lead to a rise in quotations, he believes. 

Archer is developing an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) airplane called Midnight. Он смог бы, например, перевозить пассажиров из центра Манхэттена до ближайших аэропортов за 5–15 минут, тогда как на автомобиле тот же путь занимает один–два часа из-за пробок.

But for now, Archer has no revenue, no profit, and no finished and certified product, writes The Motley Fool. For the first quarter of 2025, the company reported a net loss of $93.4 million. The developer still has a long way to go before it gets approval from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to fly domestically, analysts said;

Things could be much faster in other countries. In 2025, Archer plans to be the first airline carrier to launch an air cab service in Abu Dhabi. This will be the first real test of the company's business idea, writes The Motley Fool. 

A successful launch in Emirates will help convince investors that Archer's long-term plans are feasible and potential customers that the flights are safe, the publication speculates. This will push quotes up: the stock could «easily surpass» the recent high of $13.3, analysts believe. Investing in Archer is therefore suitable for risk-prone investors, while everyone else will probably want to wait for the company to pass a few more key milestones, says The Motley Fool.  

Archer came under attack from shorting investors in May. Downgrading play Culper Research published a report on Archer on May 20. In it, the research firm accused Archer of having «systematically misled, deceived or outright lied» to investors about virtually every key stage of Midnight's development and testing over the past 12 months. Culper Research believes that promoting Archer as a company that is close to commercialization is not only premature, but reckless.

On May 21, the day after the report was released, Archer shares fell 4% - to $10.82. 

Since the beginning of the year, Archer quotes are in slight favor at 3.5%, but have soared more than 205% over the past 12 months. 

Eight Wall Street analysts advise buying the company's securities (Buy and Overweight ratings), while two more advise holding (Hold), shows MarketWatch. The average target price of $11.75 implies a potential upside of more than 16% to the last closing price.