4 Electric Vehicle Stocks to Watch as the Lucid Motors Merger Approaches

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Lucid Motors is expected to begin trading on the New York Stocks Exchange under the ticker symbol “LCID” by the end of June. It could get people really excited about other electric vehicle stocks.

The company that makes luxury electric vehicles is going public via a reverse merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Churchill Capital IV (NYSE:CCIV), which is run by Wall Street rainmaker and former Citigroup (NYSE:C) banker Michael Klein.

Seen as a legitimate domestic threat to the reign of Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), Lucid Motors is at the production stage with its high-end electric sedan known as the “Lucid Air,” which retails for as much as $161,500.

With plans to begin deliveries next year (2022) and ramp-up production to 400,000 vehicles annually, many analysts think the Lucid Motors merger could help to reignite investor interest in the electric vehicle sector, which has cooled off since its red hot bull run last year. Here are four electric vehicle stocks to keep an eye on as the Lucid Motors merger nears.

  • Blink Charging (NASDAQ:BLNK)
  • Fisker (NYSE:FSR)
  • Nio (NYSE:NIO)
  • General Motors (NYSE:GM)

Electric Vehicle Stocks to Watch: Blink Charging (BLNK)

a blink charging station
Source: David Tonelson/Shutterstock.com

If there’s a stock that could use a boost, it’s Blink Charging. The company has seen its share price fall 37% since hitting an all-time high of $64.50 in January.

Blink Charging operates a network of electric vehicle charging stations across the U.S. and around the world. It continues to expand aggressively. At the end of May, Blink Charging announced that it is spending $221.4 million that it successfully raised through a January stock offering to grow its electric vehicle charging station network.

Blink Charging also recently acquired Belgium-based Blue Corner NV for $24 million, adding 7,000 charging stations to its European operations and bringing its global network to about 30,000 electric vehicle charging stations.

While a leading and necessary infrastructure company in the global shift to electric vehicles, Blink Charging has been hurt by investors’ move away from the sector since February of this year. However, BLNK stock had an incredible run in 2020, rising 2,831%. In June 2020, Blink Charging stock was worth $2.20 a share. Today it trades above $39.

The Lucid Motors merger could put some juice back in BLNK stock in coming months.

Fisker (FSR)

The Fisker logo hangs on display at the November 2011 International Auto Show.
Source: Eric Broder Van Dyke / Shutterstock.com

Fisker is a different type of electric vehicle company. Its Ocean all-electric sport utility vehicle (SUV) is not only gasoline-free but is also made from recycled and vegan materials.

The company is trying to make a vehicle that is good for the environment in every respect, and FSR stock has jumped 80% to $18 a share since mid-May after the company announced it has formed a manufacturing partnership with Hon Hai Precision Industry, known as “Foxconn.”

The two companies plan to jointly manufacture an electric vehicle for the U.S. market.

In the meantime, Fisker plans to start producing its Ocean electric SUV for the European market in the fourth quarter of 2022 and the U.S. market a year later (fourth quarter of 2023). The company says it has more than 15,000 reservations for its vehicles.

FSR stock, which went public in 2020 via a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) hit a high of $31.96 in February before falling backward. While the share price has been rallying lately, it trades at around $18 today, the company’s earnings remain a challenge.

Fisker said it lost $176.8 million, or $0.63 a share, in the first quarter, compared with a loss of $1.13 million, or $0.01 a share in the first quarter of 2020. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected Fisker to report an adjusted loss of $0.17 a share.

The company guided for operating expenses of between $240 million and $270 million, up from previous guidance of $210 million and $240 million. Fisker had cash on hand of $985.4 million and zero debt at the end of the first quarter.

Electric Vehicle Stocks to Watch: Nio (NIO)

A shot from the outside of a Nio (NIO) display room at night.
Source: Robert Way / Shutterstock.com

Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio has been on an upswing lately. NIO stock has climbed 40% since mid-May and now trades above $43 a share.

As with other electric vehicle stocks on this list, Nio has had an incredible run over the past year. Since June 2020, the company’s share price has risen 630% to its current level. The current rally was sparked by news that Nio delivered 6,711 vehicles in May, a 95% year-over-year increase.

So far this year, Nio has delivered nearly 110,000 vehicles comprised of its three models, the ES8, ES6 and EC6.

Nio has also announced plans to begin selling vehicles in Norway this September, its first expansion outside of China. Nio has said that it will launch its ES8 electric SUV in Norway, followed by its ET7 electric sedan in 2022. More than half of the new cars sold in Norway in 2020 were electric vehicles, according to the Norwegian Road Federation.

The company has warned that an ongoing shortage of microchips will slow its vehicle deliveries in the second quarter of this year, although its first sedan, the ET7, is still slated to reach showrooms in early 2022.

General Motors (GM)

Image of General Motors (GM) logo on corporate building with clear sky in the background. growth stocks
Source: Katherine Welles / Shutterstock.com

General Motors, the largest American automaker, is betting its future on electric vehicles. The company has said that it plans to produce only electric vehicles by 2035 and the entire company will be carbon neutral by 2040.

To that end, GM has said it will invest $27 billion in electric vehicles in the next five years. The company plans to offer 30 all-electric models worldwide by 2025, including crossovers, SUVs, sedans and pick-up trucks.

General Motors reported a better-than-expected first-quarter profit despite the global semiconductor shortage that has forced the company to close several of its manufacturing plants.

GM posted a first-quarter net profit of $3 billion or $2.03 a share, up from $294 million or $0.17 a share a year earlier. The company also reiterated its full-year 2021 earnings guidance and said that its full-year 2021 results will be at the upper end of the $10 billion to $11 billion it had previously forecast.

GM stock has been an outperformer so far in 2021, up 60% year-to-date at $63.90. Analysts think the shares have more room to run and have a median price target on the stock of $71, with a high estimate of $86. The median price target would represent an 11% increase from GM’s current share price.

Disclosure: On the date of publication, Joel Baglole did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.

Joel Baglole has been a business journalist for 20 years. He spent five years as a staff reporter at The Wall Street Journal, and has also written for The Washington Post and Toronto Star newspapers, as well as financial websites such as The Motley Fool and Investopedia.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2021/06/electric-vehicle-stocks-to-watch-as-the-lucid-motors-merger-approaches/.

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