Why Martin Aircraft Company Ltd's share price is rocketing today

Shares of Martin Aircraft Company Ltd (ASX:MJP) have risen 58% in the last two days.

a woman

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Shares of Martin Aircraft Company Ltd (ASX: MJP) are again flying off the charts, lifting another 19.2% after rising 32.6% during Monday's session.

They're currently trading at 68 cents, down from an intraday high of 76 cents. The heavy buying comes after the New Zealand-based company announced the latest model of its Prototype 12 aircraft, dubbed P12.3, has achieved New Zealand CAA approval for manned flight.

What this means is that the company now has multiple jetpacks available for manned and unmanned flights, enabling it to accelerate flight testing and to undertake specific marketing flight display events.

So What: Martin Aircraft is striving to commercialise the Martin Jetpack, with its first product set to target customers in the First Responder field (e.g. fire crews, search and rescue, police, etc.).

The company's CEO and Managing Director, Peter Coker, described the most recent achievement as another "major technical milestone" in the company's quest to bring its first model to customers in the latter half of 2016.

Now What: Martin Aircraft's shares skyrocketed (excuse the pun) in the weeks following its February 2015 initial public offering (IPO), but have fallen considerably since. At the current price of 68 cents, they could offer huge upside if everything goes to plan.

In saying that there are also enormous risks involved with an investment today (regulatory hurdles are considerable), meaning that Martin Aircraft is by no means for the faint-hearted investor. Investors may be wise to leave this one alone for now, and focus on other small-cap companies also offering strong growth prospects.

Motley Fool contributor Ryan Newman has no position in any stocks mentioned. Unless otherwise noted, the author does not have a position in any stocks mentioned by the author in the comments below. You can follow Ryan on Twitter @ASXvalueinvest. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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