Alta Fundamental Advisors Trims $13 Million Archer Aviation Position After Stock Hit 52-Week High

Alta Fundamental Advisers LLC disclosed a sale of 393,800 shares of Archer Aviation Inc., reducing its position by an estimated $5.97 million, per its Nov. 13, 2025, SEC filing.

What happened

According to its SEC filing dated Nov. 13, 2025, Alta Fundamental Advisers reduced its stake in Archer Aviation (NYSE:ACHR) by 393,800 shares during the third quarter.

This brought its total holdings to 1,338,833 shares, valued at $12.83 million at quarter-end.

What else to know

The fund sold shares of Archer Aviation, which now accounts for 5.5% of its $234.25 million 13F AUM.

Top holdings after the filing:

• USA TODAY (NYSE:TDAY): $46.11 million (19.7% of AUM)
• Liberty Latin America, Class C (NASDAQ:LILA.K): $15.64 million (6.7% of AUM)
• Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU): $14.88 million (6.4% of AUM)
• Archer Aviation: $12.83 million (5.5% of AUM)
• Chemours (NYSE:CC): $12.67 million (5.4% of AUM)

As of Nov. 12, 2025, Archer Aviation shares were priced at $8.46, up 9% over the past year and underperforming the S&P 500 by 4 percentage points.

Company overview

Company snapshot

Archer Aviation:

• Designs, develops, manufactures, and operates electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for passenger transportation.
• Focuses on urban air mobility solutions, specifically the commercialization and operation of eVTOL aircraft for passenger services.
• Is headquartered in Palo Alto, California, and serves metropolitan areas with sustainable, high-speed transportation alternatives.

Archer Aviation Inc. is an early-stage aerospace company focused on the emerging urban air mobility sector, with a core strategy of bringing electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft to market.

The company leverages advanced engineering and manufacturing capabilities to address the growing demand for sustainable, high-speed urban transportation.

Archer's competitive positioning is driven by its technology development and its focus on scalable solutions for metropolitan passenger mobility.

Foolish take

After doubling -- technically, tripling -- down on Archer Aviation stock while it was at $3 per share in 2024, Alta Fundamental took some profits last quarter.

The firm sold roughly one-fourth of its Archer Aviation shares at around $10 per share, a tidy gain in a short time for Alta.

Because of this quick turnaround, I wouldn't view Alta's sale as an indictment of Archer's stock, but rather just opportunistic profit-taking.

From a longer-term, Foolish perspective, Archer Aviation remains a fascinating, all-or-nothing type of investment.

While the company is still pre-revenue, it has a production partnership in place with Stellantis NV (NYSE:STLA) and a technology partnership with everyone's favorite AI company, Palantir (NASDAQ:PLTR), so it's by no means a typical penny stock.

That said, numerous hurdles remain from a regulatory standpoint, and it is almost impossible to predict how the future of aviation will unfold. Furthermore, without any sales, it is tough to value the company on anything other than comparing its market capitalization of $5.5 billion to a yet-to-be-determined total addressable market.

However, stocks that create their own industries or niches tend to offer the highest level of rewards, so Archer looks like a prime example of a boom-or-bust stock.

If you're a believer in the burgeoning eVTOL industry and Archer Aviation in particular, I'd recommend buying small batches of shares over time, rather than making a big, all-in bet.

Glossary

13F reportable AUM: Assets under management reported by institutional investment managers in quarterly SEC Form 13F filings.
Fund AUM: The total market value of assets a fund manages on behalf of its clients.
Stake: The ownership interest or shareholding a fund or investor holds in a company.
Quarter-end: The final day of a company's fiscal quarter, used for reporting financial positions.
eVTOL: Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing aircraft, designed for urban air mobility and passenger transport.
Urban air mobility: The use of aircraft, often electric, to transport people or goods within urban areas.
Position: The amount of a particular security or asset held by an investor or fund.
TTM: The 12 months ending with the most recent quarterly report.
Outperforming: Achieving better returns or performance compared to a benchmark, such as the S&P 500.
Holdings: The individual securities or assets owned by a fund or investor.
Early-stage company: A business in the initial phases of development, often pre-profit and focused on growth.
Commercialization: The process of bringing a new product or service to market for widespread sale and adoption.

Josh Kohn-Lindquist has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends USA Today. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.