Archer Aviation Stock Plunges as $210 Million Trading Volume Ranks in Top 500 Amid Mixed Momentum from eVTOL Milestones and Sector Underperformance

Archer Aviation (ACHR) closed 0.65% lower on August 20, 2025, with a trading volume of $210 million, down 21.77% from the previous day. The stock’s performance follows mixed investor sentiment amid progress in its eVTOL development and strategic expansion efforts.

The company’s Midnight aircraft achieved a significant milestone with its longest piloted flight to date—55 miles in 31 minutes at over 126 mph—marking a step toward U.S. certification and UAE commercialization. The test, observed by United Airlines’ CFO, underscores technical advancements in range and speed, critical for validating the aircraft’s viability in urban air mobility (UAM) routes.

Archer has accelerated its defense program through two acquisitions, securing advanced tiltrotor technology and manufacturing capabilities. These moves align with growing Pentagon interest in autonomous systems, positioning the company to diversify beyond commercial eVTOLs. Additionally, a partnership with Jetex to integrate global terminal networks into its Midnight air taxi service highlights infrastructure readiness for future operations.

Despite these catalysts, ACHR underperformed broader aerospace and defense indices over six months, gaining just 1.7% compared to the sector’s 22.5%. The stock trades at a trailing P/B of 3.03x, below the industry average of 5.77x, reflecting discounted valuation amid ongoing losses and high operating expenses. Recent short interest declined by 6.8%, signaling waning bearish conviction.

A strategy of buying the top 500 stocks by daily trading volume and holding for one day from 2022 to 2025 yielded a total return of 31.52% over 365 days. The approach showed best performance in June 2023 (7.02%) and worst in September 2022 (-4.20%), indicating short-term momentum capture amid market volatility.