A struggling electric vehicle (EV) penny stock is in full focus today after a major announcement. Lordstown Motors (NASDAQ:RIDE) has been failing to garner any serious momentum for months, even as the EV boom has continued. Today RIDE stock is plunging on news that the company has both filed for bankruptcy and begun a lawsuit against manufacturing partner Foxconn (OTCMKTS:HNHPF).
This isn’t surprising, given how many problems Lordstown has faced during the past year and how much value its shares have lost. Over the past two months, the company’s founder and former CEO sold his entire stake in Lordstown. However, today’s news has cast even more doubt over the company’s growth prospects. RIDE stock fell by as much as 50% today, and while it has since rebounded, it remains firmly in the red. This comes at a time when there are already plenty of reasons to bet against it. As The Wall Street Journal reports:
“Lordstown once said it would produce hundreds of thousands of vehicles in the former GM plant in Lordstown, Ohio, but so far it has made only a handful of trucks. The company’s market capitalization has fallen to $47.49 million as of Monday, from a peak of about $5 billion in February 2021.”
On top of all day, institutional interest in RIDE stock has been declining as well. Let’s take a closer look at sentiment from hedge funds and the investors maintaining positions in RIDE.
Top Five Investors in RIDE Stock
Data from Whale Wisdom makes it clear that institutional investors have soured on RIDE stock recently. Since the year’s first quarter, the number of funds holding it has fallen 11%, and the number of 13F shares has dropped 10%. Percentage ownership is down 18%, and the number of new positions has fallen by almost 35%. While the number of increased positions is down 14%, reduced positions are up 11%, and closed positions have risen by 18%. The company’s put/call ratio has surged by an astounding 80%, making one thing clear: Bearish sentiment toward Lordstown is rising steadily.
Here are the top five investors still holding RIDE stock:
- Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. or Foxconn: 21,865,437 shares. Lordstown’s partner remains the principal shareholder. It has made no changes to its holdings since Q1.
- State Street Corp (NYSE:STT): 4,580,761 shares. This financial services giant recently trimmed its RIDE stock holdings by 349,414 shares.
- Geode Capital Management: 3,566,577 shares. This wealth management firm recently added 70,967 shares to its holdings.
- Renaissance Technologies: 2,780,437 shares. This leading hedge fund purchased its entire stake in Lordstown during the previous quarter.
- Northern Trust Corp: 1,418,079 shares. This financial services company recently reduced its position in RIDE stock by 110,836 shares.
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On the date of publication, Samuel O’Brient 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.
