Canaccord analysts initiated coverage on the electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) sector in a note Friday.
Within the space, the firm started Archer Aviation (NYSE:ACHR) with a Buy rating and a $9 price target, Joby Aviation (NYSE:JOBY) with a Buy rating and an $8 price target, and Eve Holding (NYSE:EVEX) with a Buy rating and a $10 price target. In addition, it started Vertical Aerospace (NYSE:EVTL) with a Hold rating and a $2 price target and Lilium NV (NASDAQ:LILM) with a Hold rating and a $1.20 price target.
The analysts stated that eVTOL aircraft, which can take off from a traditional heliport (or vertiport) and ferry passengers over busy traffic below using purely battery power, "have the potential to substantially reduce carbon emissions in major urban areas and break up traffic congestion by taking to the air."
"Today, ridesharing services such as Uber (NYSE:UBER) and Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) have a combined 107M monthly active riders. eVTOL aircraft, given their optimized ranges in the 20- to 50-mile range for journeys, are in a strong position to take share in the ground vehicle-based ridesharing sector," the analysts wrote. "Based on our estimates,~15% of rides hailed to and from airports and 5% of longer-distance regional trips could be replaced by eVTOL aircraft, potentially reaching 45M monthly active riders within the next decade."
The analysts concluded that with a target ticket price of ~$107 for an airport-ranged flight, they estimate that the TAM for eVTOL travel in urban metros could be worth nearly $58 billion by 2033.