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The deadline for institutional investors to file a quarterly update has passed, giving investors a full view of 13F holdings as of Dec. 31. Now, a major institutional investor has disclosed purchasing more shares of Mullen Automotive (NASDAQ:MULN) stock during the fourth quarter.
BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) now owns a total of 26.42 million shares of MULN stock. The multinational financial firm last reported owning 26.28 million shares as of Q3, which means it purchased 137,059 shares during Q4. After the purchase, BlackRock is now the fourth-largest shareholder of Mullen. At the same time, Mullen is BlackRock’s 3,528th largest position with a less than 0.01% portfolio allocation. In other words, MULN is a tiny bet that carries little-to-no risk for the firm.
BlackRock wasn’t the only institution that upped its stake in Mullen. Ault Alliance (NYSEMKT:AULT) reported owning 71.96 million shares as of Q4, up from its last reported position of 2.41 million shares. The purchase cements Ault as the largest shareholder of the electric vehicle (EV) company.
BlackRock Increases MULN Stake
During Q4, 13F filers in aggregate increased their ownership in MULN stock. Total 13F shares owned increased to 109.97 million, compared to 83.31 million last quarter. On top of that, 131 filers have disclosed stakes in the company, up from 99 filers last quarter.
Shareholders of MULN should also be pleased to hear that the institutional put/call ratio sits at a low 0.46, which actually increased from 0.44. That’s equivalent to 4.58 million puts and 10.04 million calls, implying a bullish options stance.
However, 2023 has not been very kind to MULN stock. Shares are down about 16% year-to-date (YTD), which has been attributed to a poor Q4 earnings report and its announcement of the resale of up to 2.49 billion shares. As of Dec. 31, there were 1.36 billion shares of MULN outstanding. That means the resale share count is almost double outstanding shares, spelling dilution for existing shareholders.
Meanwhile, Mullen is nowhere near close to being profitable. In a high interest rate environment, profitability is especially scrutinized due to a higher discount rate. For the three months ended Dec. 31, Mullen reported a net loss before accrued preferred dividends and non-controlling interest of $378.46 million. That widened from a loss of $156.06 million during the same time last year.
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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.