It’s been a pretty rough ride for electric vehicle (EV) stocks lately. It doesn’t help that Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock has made a new 52-week low in 10 straight sessions coming into Wednesday. However, Workhorse (NASDAQ:WKHS) is trying to change that narrative, even as WKHS stock is still down slightly on the day.
Well, it’s trying to change that narrative, anyway. That’s even as WKHS stock also hit new 52-week lows in the session.
Investors are hopeful following the company’s business update after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) finished its investigation. Perhaps most notable from the update was this:
“The previously disclosed investigation of the Company has concluded, and the SEC does not intend to recommend any enforcement action against the Company at this time.”
Workhorse CEO Rick Dauch added, “We are pleased to conclude 2022 with legacy issues behind us and are looking ahead to 2023 fully focused on executing our commercial vehicle product roadmaps and advancing our Aero and Stables & Stalls businesses.”
That said, Workhorse still faces an uphill battle.
WKHS Stock Investors Look Toward 2023
It’s been a horrible year for EV stocks, and WKHS stock is no exception. It has made new 52-week lows in six of the last seven trading sessions, including today. Further, shares are down 67.2% so far in 2022 and 96.6% from their all-time high.
However, the SEC news is positive for bulls. Further, management seems more focused on moving forward with the business. The company said it will discontinue its C1000 program immediately. That’s as it “fully focuses its resources on advancing its product roadmap for the W4 CC, W750, and W56 vehicles.”
Again, Dauch added, “We are on track with our plans to ramp up production and deliveries across our W4 CC, W750 and W56 in 2023 and beyond. The conversations we’ve had with customers over the last several weeks have reinforced that demand for our vehicles is strong.”
Here’s the problem though and it helps explain the horrendous performance of WKHS stock.
Workhorse expects to deliver between 25 and 100 vehicles this year and generate between $5 million and $15 million in revenue. While they expect a “significant” increase in revenue in 2023, 100 vehicle deliveries and $15 million in revenue still doesn’t justify the company’s market capitalization of $235 million. Not to mention, it still operates at a loss.
Investors could justify calling WKHS stock a speculative position, but it’s hard to make the bullish case at this moment from a fundamental perspective.
On the date of publication, Bret Kenwell 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.
