Earlier this month, shares of Lucid (NASDAQ:LCID) stock accelerated higher on rumors of an acquisition by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). The government investment fund already owns a 60.66% stake, equivalent to 1.1 billion shares, in the electric vehicle (EV) company. In the past, the two parties have also collaborated on funding and purchase orders. Last year, Saudi Arabia disclosed that it would purchase 50,000 Lucid Airs, with the option to purchase an additional 50,000, over the next 10 years. The first deliveries for this massive order will begin during Q2.
Now, the deadline for institutional investors to file a quarterly update has passed, giving investors insight into 13F holdings as of Q4. One major investor has reported increasing its stake during the quarter. Let’s get into the details.
BlackRock Increases Stake in Lucid
Multi-national investment firm BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) has disclosed ownership of 31.45 million shares of LCID stock as of Dec. 31. BlackRock last disclosed a stake of 28.17 million shares as of Q3, which means that it purchased 3.27 million shares during Q4. At the same time, investors should note that BlackRock owns thousands of stocks. Lucid is the firm’s 1,487th largest position with just a 0.01% portfolio allocation.
Still, 13F filers across the board seemed to echo BlackRock’s sentiment. A total of 439 13F filers own LCID stock as of Q4, up from 417 filers during the prior quarter. These investors own a total of 1.32 billion shares, up from 1.18 billion shares.
Besides BlackRock, firms like Vanguard, Two Sigma and Geode Capital Management reported increasing their respective stakes as well. Notably, famed investor George Soros disclosed selling all of his put options against 400,000 shares of LCID and purchasing call options against one million shares, marking a major reversal in sentiment. On the other hand, Philippe Laffont’s Coatue Management, who has garnered attention in recent years for his bets in EV companies, reported selling all of his 3.67 million shares of Lucid during Q4.
Meanwhile, Lucid carries an average price target of $14.18 across eight firms with coverage of the stock. That implies upside of about 30% from current prices.
On the date of publication, Eddie Pan did not hold (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.
