Institutional investors and professional traders rely on The Fly to keep up-to-the-second on breaking news in the electric vehicle and clean energy space, as well as which stocks in these sectors that the best analysts on Wall Street are saying to buy and sell.
From the hotly-debated high-flier Tesla, Wall Street's newest darling Rivian, traditional-stalwarts turned EV-upstarts GM and Ford to the numerous SPAC-deal makers that have come public in this red-hot space, The Fly has you covered with "Charged," a weekly recap of the top stories and expert calls in the sector.
STOCK SPLIT: According to a regulatory filing, Tesla (TSLA) filed an Authorized Shares Amendment for the purpose of facilitating a 3-for-1 split of its common stock in the form of a stock dividend. "As of June 6, 2022, we have 1,036,390,569 shares of common stock outstanding, and the current number of authorized shares of Tesla's common stock is 2,000,000,000, which is insufficient to effectuate the Stock Split. The company's Board intends to approve the Stock Split, subject to and contingent upon stockholder approval of the Authorized Shares Amendment," the filing reads.
The company also said that, this month, Oracle (ORCL) chairman Larry Ellison determined collectively with the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and the Board that he will not stand for re-election to the Board when his current term ends at the 2022 Annual Meeting. The Board currently expects to reduce the number of Board seats to seven upon the expiration of Ellison's term at the 2022 Annual Meeting, and therefore votes or proxies may not be submitted for the election of more than two board seats.
Meanwhile, UBS analyst Patrick Hummel upgraded Tesla to Buy from Neutral on Thursday with an unchanged price target of $1,100. The shares are down 35% year-to-date but the company's outlook is "stronger than ever before," Hummel told investors in a research note. Tesla has a record-high order backlog and two new gigafactories ramping up, margin momentum and a "structural competitive edge" in key supply chains, the analyst added. Hummel cut his 2022 earnings estimates by 12% to account for the Shanghai lockdown but raised earnings estimates for the next three years by 40%, resulting in $28 earnings per share in 2025. He told investors it is "time to be bold" with regards to Tesla shares.
Also more bullish on Tesla, RBC Capital analyst Joseph Spak upgraded the stock to Outperform from Sector Perform with a price target of $1,100, down from $1,175. The analyst is positive on the company's more favorable near-term set-up and also believes that Tesla's focus on supply chain and vertical integration will be a mid-term competitive advantage. Investors have positioned for lower second quarter deliveries, with buyside expectations seen around 250,000 vehicles - below consensus forecast of 279,000 units - and Tesla's margins can surprise to upside, Spak told investors in a research note on Monday.
SELF-DEVELOP BATTERY PACKS: Nio (NIO) chairman William Li said the company will start making self-developed high-voltage battery packs in 2024 in a bid to improve profitability and competitiveness while directly competing with Tesla, Reuters reported. Most electric vehicles operate with 400-volt batteries, though Nio will start producing an 800-volt battery pack, the publication stated.
PHOENIX MOTOR OPENS FOR TRADING: Phoenix Motor (PEV) opened on June 8 at $7.50. The company had priced 2.1M shares at $7.50, inside the $7.00-$9.00 target range. Prime Number acted as sole book running manager for the offering. Phoenix Motor is a California based company that designs, assembles, and integrates electric drive systems and light and medium duty electric vehicles.
LEADERSHIP CHANGES: Volta (VLTA) announced that its Board of Directors has made several key leadership appointments and new hires to help drive the company's next phase of growth and operational success. The Board has appointed Vincent Cubbage as Interim CEO and hired Stephen Pilatzke as Chief Accounting Officer. The Board also announced today that Brandt Hastings, currently Chief Revenue Officer and Interim CEO, has been promoted to Chief Commercial Officer to capitalize on Volta's growing revenue momentum and market opportunity. Additionally, Drew Lipsher, currently Chief Strategy Officer, has been promoted to Chief Development Officer. The Board will commence a search for a successor to Volta's current CFO, Francois Chadwick, in the coming weeks. As disclosed on June 10, Chadwick will leave Volta on August 22 to pursue another professional opportunity.
On Monday, Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Andres Sheppard downgraded Volta to Neutral from Overweight with a price target of $4, down from $6, after the company announced that CFO Francois Chadwick will leave the firm to pursue another opportunity. This announcement was unexpected and follows the announcement earlier this year that the co-founders were also stepping down, Sheppard told investors in a research note. While the analyst still believes revenue will likely more than double in 2022 and that the company will be a beneficiary of the $7.5B funding earmarked for U.S. states as a result of the bipartisan IIJA Act, he is more conservative in the short-term given the company's uncertainty around management and liquidity needs.
FISKER OCEAN SUV: Fisker (FSR) announced that reservations for its all-electric Fisker Ocean SUV surpassed 50,000. The company also revealed significant additional details about its second vehicle, the Fisker PEAR - Personal Electric Automotive Revolution. The Fisker Ocean will start production at a carbon-neutral factory in Austria on Nov. 17. The Fisker PEAR will be fully revealed in the second half of 2023 and enter production at a plant owned by Fisker partner Foxconn in 2024. With development well underway, prototype testing is expected to begin at the end of 2022. The Fisker PEAR is a sporty crossover, smaller than the Fisker Ocean SUV.
BUY LION ELECTRIC: Roth Capital analyst Craig Irwin initiated coverage of Lion Electric (LEV) with a Buy rating and $13 price target. The company produces all-electric medium- and heavy-duty commercial trucks, and has a leadership position in all-electric school buses, Irwin told investors in a research note. The analyst noted that Lion used the cash from the special purpose acquisition company merger to diversify its product lineup, expand capacity, and vertically integrate with battery manufacturing to drive down vehicle costs. Disbursement of the $5B federal funding for electric vehicle school buses should start later this year and "present a material catalyst," Irwin contended.
EV OPTIONALITY: Wells Fargo analyst Colin Langan upgraded Lear (LEA) to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $180, up from $141. The analyst cited the company's "compelling" valuation, "strong" earnings growth and electric vehicle tailwinds and optionality. Lear is now trading at 4.4-times estimated 2023 EBITDA, a 17% discount to its 10-year average, Langan tells investors in a research note. Auto production is expected to recover in second half of 2022 with improved semiconductor and easing input costs, which will result in Lear's earnings almost doubling from 2022 to 2023, the analyst argued. He sees the company benefiting from electric vehicle growth given that its e-powertrain products have low in-sourcing risk.
ON THE SIDELINES: Piper Sandler analyst Kashy Harrison assumed coverage of Plug Power (PLUG) with a Neutral rating and $18 price target. The analyst expects the company to generate over $3B of revenue by 2025, primarily due to material handling, electrolyzers, and green hydrogen fuel sales. Plug has yet to achieve profitability at the gross level, but it has path for margins to improve in the coming years, Harrison told investors in a research note.
The analyst also assumed coverage of Bloom Energy (BE) with a Neutral rating and $20 price target. The analyst believes Bloom has an attractive growth outlook, opportunity for a margin inflection, and upside associated with electrolyzer optionality. However, he sees limited valuation upside from current share levels.
ANTICIRC RELIEF: Roth Capital analyst Philip Shen upgraded Array Technologies (ARRY) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $18, up from $7, citing "a path for the AntiCirc case to be neutralized." The analyst expects the upside momentum in the stock to continue, with the key now now being whether the Administration has met the burden of proof in its use of the term "emergency." Shen added that the "action shows is that there is the political will to get something done, so UFLPA may end up being less bad."
Shen also upgraded FTC Solar (FTCI) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $8, up from $3, citing similar reasons.
Tesla
-46.03 (-6.60%)
Oracle
-2.11 (-3.14%)
Nio
-1.705 (-9.40%)
Phoenix Motor
-0.24 (-7.45%)
Volta
-0.455 (-20.45%)
Fisker
-0.505 (-5.66%)
Lion Electric
-0.245 (-4.76%)
Lear
-5.81 (-4.34%)
Plug Power
-1.705 (-10.68%)
Bloom Energy
-1.98 (-11.62%)
Array Technologies
-1.18 (-9.33%)
FTC Solar
-0.755 (-14.27%)
General Motors
-1.99 (-5.68%)
Ford
-0.75 (-5.89%)
Rivian Automotive
-1.5 (-5.28%)