Category: Tesla $TSLA

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Stockwinners Portfolio returns 22.8% in 2022

S&P 500 declined 19.6% during the same period

The bear market of 2022 cost most investors dearly whereas Stockwinners readers were able to register double digit returns. Our experience in the past 24 years has taught us how to avoid pitfall of following crowds and Wall Street gurus. In fact, we stayed away from story stocks such Tesla (TSLA), Paypal Holdings (PYPL) and Meta Platform (META). We concentrated on small to medium cap stocks. These stocks typically do not have any exposure to overseas markets and are traded on their own fundamentals.

Russian invasion of Ukraine created unique trading opportunities for investors. The vicious invasion of Ukraine caused energy and commodity prices skyrocket thus offering opportunities in that space. In fact, one of our better performers on the year was EPAM System (EPAM). This software company has about 25 percent of its workforce located in the eastern European country. Those who bought the stock based on our recommendations were rewarded with a 23% return in two days.

Energy stocks were awakened with the invasion. Crude oil shot up to $106.50 from $70 per barrel. This price increase buoyed energy stocks. Amongst our better performers were shares of Par Pacific Holdings (PARR). The refiner shares gained fifteen percent following our recommendations.

Other commodity stocks that were featured in our portfolio included those involved in precious and rare minerals mining. Livent Corporation (LTHM) was one such name. The lithium miner was featured several times with solid returns. The returns were 14%, 12% and 18%. Sigma Lithium Corporation (SGML) was another name in the sector. It gained 14% following our recommendations.

Sierra Wireless, Inc. (SWIR) was another stock that came to our attention. The company provides device-to-cloud Internet of Things (IoT) solutions. Shares were featured in August with success. Stock gained 18 percents in two weeks.

We featured put options (shorting the stock) on several names. One of the names featured was Open Text Corporation (OTEX). Put option on the name returned 325% in 17 days. The put was featured at $1.50 and it was closed 17 days later at $6.40. Another name that was featured several times was Carvana (CVNA). Shares of the used car retailer have fallen from $300 to $3.55.

A strong employment market created opportunity in placement companies. Cross Country Healthcare, Inc. (CCRN) was such name. The company places medical staff. Shares were featured in August and gained 18% in less than two weeks.

Our portfolio can be downloaded here. Additionally, one may download our selections for the past 18 years in a spreadsheet format.

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Vivint Smart Home sold for $2.8B

NRG Energy to acquire Vivint Smart Home for $12 per share, or $2.8B cash

NRG Energy (NRG) and Vivint Smart Home (VVNT) announced they have entered into a definitive agreement under which NRG will acquire Vivint for $12 per share or $2.8B in an all-cash transaction with an implied multiple of 6.3x run-rate Enterprise Value to Adjusted EBITDA. The agreement has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies.

Vivint Smart Home engages in the sale, installation, servicing, and monitoring of smart home and security systems primarily in the United States and Canada. The company’s smart home platform includes cloud-enabled smart home operating systems; AI-driven smart home automation and assistance software; software-enabled smart home devices; and tech-enabled services to educate, manage, and support the smart home. 

NRG Energy operates as an integrated power company in the United States. 

NRG will acquire 100% of the outstanding equity of Vivint for a total transaction value of $5.2B, which consists of approximately $2.8B in cash and the assumption of $2.4B of debt (net of cash), which benefits from attractive terms and pricing.

This consideration represents a premium of approximately 33% to Vivint’s closing share price on December 5, 2022.

NRG’s capital allocation strategy will continue to opportunistically balance its growth, return of capital, and balance sheet objectives.

NRG intends to complete its existing $1 billion share repurchase program over the near term, of which $360 million was remaining as of November 30, 2022.

In 2023, NRG expects to use its excess free cash flow to fund the Vivint acquisition, reduce acquisition-related debt, and maintain its common stock dividend growth policy.

In 2024, the Company intends to return to its 50% return of capital / 50% growth capital allocation policy.

NRG remains highly committed to its dividend growth policy, which remains unchanged from previous guidance.

Management remains committed to maintaining its strong balance sheet and credit ratings.

The Company expects to achieve its investment grade credit metrics target of 2.50-2.75x Net Debt / Adjusted EBITDA by late 2025 to 2026 through the combination of debt reduction and growth.

The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2023 and is subject to customary closing conditions, including the expiration of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976. Upon completion of the transaction, NRG intends to maintain a significant presence in Utah.

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Musk offers to buy Twitter at original price!

Twitter jumps after Musk offers deal on original terms

Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk is proposing to buy Twitter (TWTR) for the original offer price of $54.20 per share, Jeff Feeley and Ed Hammond of Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the matter.

Elon Musk

Musk made the proposal in a letter to Twitter, sources told Bloomberg. Shares of Tesla (TSLA) moved well off their highs after Bloomberg reported, and CNBC followed, that its CEO Elon Musk is proposing to buy Twitter (TWTR) for the original offer price of $54.20 per share. Shares of Twitter are halted at $47.93 pending news while Tesla shares paired their gains to up about 2% to $247.29.

Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk has offered to close his acquisition of Twitter (TWTR) on the terms he originally agreed to, Cara Lombardo and Dana Cimilluca of WSJ report, citing a person familiar with the matter.

Musk’s lawyers communicated the proposal to Twitter’s lawyers overnight Monday and filed a letter confidentially with the Delaware Chancery Court ahead of an emergency hearing on the matter Tuesday, the person said.

The two sides are discussing how to ensure the deal can be closed, according to Lombardo and Cimilluca. The judge overseeing the case requested they come back to her by the end of the day with a potential plan that would allow the litigation to be dropped, a source told the Journal.

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Rig Counts Rise as Oil Stablizes!

Baker Hughes reports U.S. rig count up 4 to 763 rigs

Baker Hughes (BKR) reports that the U.S. rig count is up 4 from last week to 763.

U.S. Rig Count is up 251 rigs from last year’s count of 511 with oil rigs up 239, gas rigs up 58 and miscellaneous rigs up 4.

The U.S. Offshore Rig Count is unchanged at 16, up one year-over-year.

The Canada Rig Count is up 6 from last week to 211, with oil rigs up 3 to 140, gas rigs down 4 to 63.

The Canada Rig Count is up 47 rigs from last year’s count of 156, with oil rigs up 45, gas rigs up 3 and miscellaneous rigs down 1.

The International Rig Count is up 27 rigs to 860 and up 81 from last year’s count.

The Baker Hughes rig counts are counts of the number of drilling rigs actively exploring for or developing oil or natural gas in the U.S., Canada and international markets.

The Company has issued the rig counts as a service to the petroleum industry since 1944, when Hughes Tool Company began weekly counts of the U.S. and Canadian drilling activity. The monthly international rig count was initiated in 1975.

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West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is up 28 cents to $85.34 per barrel (down from a high of $123.70). Brent crude is up $0.72 to $91.54 per barre (down from a high of $127.98). Gasoline last traded at $2.418 per gallon (down from a high of $4.31 per gallon).

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What is FOMC’s next move?

The Fed says go, go, go, the markets’ say whoa, whoa, whoa

There is a lot of uncertainty on the Fed outlook and just how fast and how far will the FOMC go in hiking rates in orders to bring inflation down to the 2% average target.

Though Chair Powell gave no clear indication in last Wednesday’s press conference that the Fed was near done with its mission, the markets nevertheless heard what they wanted to hear, putting on a dovish spin and pricing in a pivot to rate cuts in the spring of 2023.

Fed Chair: Jerome Powell

But over the last week policymakers have been out in force, including several doves, strongly contradicting that outlook.

They have stressed the necessity of getting to restrictive territory while playing down the fear that the economy is already in recession.

Meanwhile, the U.S. ISM-NMI services index rose to 56.7 from a 2-year low of 55.3 in June that was last seen in February of 2021, translated to an ISM-adjusted ISM-NMI rise to 54.3 from a 2-year low of 53.7 in June.

Today’s rise joins big declines for the ISM, Chicago PMI, Dallas Fed and Philly Fed, but gains for the Richmond Fed and Empire State, to leave an 8-month producer sentiment pull-back from robust November peaks.

Surging interest rates and a flattening in real household spending as prices rise are aggravating the downtrend, though sentiment also faces support as businesses continue to restock.

The ISM-adjusted average of the major sentiment surveys in July fell to a 2-year low of 52 from prior lows of 53 in June and 54 in May. Analysts saw a 62 all-time high in both November and May of 2021. Analysts expect a 52 average in Q3, after averages of 55 in Q2, 57 in Q1, and 60 in Q4.

The futures are now repricing for about a 50-50 risk for a third straight 75 bp hike in September.

James Bullard
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Meanwhile, the hawk Bullard continues to look for a policy rate around 3.75% to 4% by year-end, though implied Fed funds still reflect a terminal rate in the 3.5% area.

Analysts continue to project a 50 bp boost in September followed by 25 bps in November and December to bring the median funds rate to 3.375%.

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Rig Counts Rise to a 2-year High !

Baker Hughes reports U.S. rig count up 13 to 753 rigs

Baker Hughes reports that the U.S. rig count is up 13 from last week to 753 with oil rigs up 10 to 594, gas rigs up 3 to 157 and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 2.

The U.S. Rig Count is up 283 rigs from last year’s count of 470 with oil rigs up 222, gas rigs up 59 and miscellaneous rigs up 2.

The U.S. Offshore Rig Count is flat at 16, up 2 year-over-year.

The Canada Rig Count is down 2 from last week to 154, with oil rigs flat at 104, gas rigs down 2 to 50.

Rig Counts Rise to a 2-year high

The Canada Rig Count is up 28 rigs from last year’s count of 126, with oil rigs up 22, gas rigs up 6.

The Baker Hughes rig counts are counts of the number of drilling rigs actively exploring for or developing oil or natural gas in the U.S., Canada and international markets.

The Company has issued the rig counts as a service to the petroleum industry since 1944, when Hughes Tool Company began weekly counts of the U.S. and Canadian drilling activity. The monthly international rig count was initiated in 1975.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is up $2.20 to $106.47 per barrel. Brent crude is up $2.02 to $112.17 per barrel. Gasoline last traded at $3.82 per gallon up 5 cents on the day.

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Oil Prices Soar on EIA report!

OPEC, Russia-led group agree to increase oil production

WTI prices extended earlier gains following the bullish EIA inventory report that overshadowed the boost in production announced by OPEC+.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) is the statistical agency of the Department of Energy. It provides policy-independent data, forecasts, and analyses to promote sound policy making, efficient markets, and public understanding regarding energy, and its interaction with the economy and the environment.

Crude prices have climbed a whopping 6-handles on the day, surging to $117.27 from an overnight low of $111.20. This is the highest since March.

The market has been whipped recently, with prices climbing on news EU would sanction some Russian oil imports, only to tumble on reports OPEC+ was considering excluding Russia from production quotas which suggested increased output from Saudi and UAE to make up for the loss.

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Then overnight there was talk that the cartel would boost production between 500 M and 700 M barrels, which saw prices dip to the lows, but only briefly.

Prices rallied and remained elevated into the $114 area, even after OPCE+ confirmed the production increase by some 50% or 648k bpd in July and August, as there were doubt the increased output can be effected.

There is also skepticism supply will be able to meet demand down the road. The market also was likely pricing in an inventory shortfall, which the EIA confirmed with crude stocks falling 5.1 M barrels, while distillates and gas stocks declining too.

WTI is up $1.43 to $116.67 per barrel. Brent is up $1.22 to $117.52 per barrel. Gasoline is up 0.126 to $4.199 per gallon. Note that dollar is weaker today which is also helping oil prices. Euro last traded at $1.08 after hitting a low of $1.06 on the day.

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Musk Buys Twitter for $44B

Elon Musk to acquire Twitter for $54.20 per share in cash

Twitter (TWTR) announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by an entity wholly owned by Tesla (TSLA) founder Elon Musk, for $54.20 per share in cash in a transaction valued at approximately $44B.

Twitter is taken private by Elon Musk

Upon completion of the transaction, Twitter will become a privately held company.

Under the terms of the agreement, Twitter stockholders will receive $54.20 in cash for each share of Twitter common stock that they own upon closing of the proposed transaction.

Elon Musk

The purchase price represents a 38% premium to Twitter’s closing stock price on April 1, 2022, which was the last trading day before Mr. Musk disclosed his approximately 9% stake in Twitter.

Bret Taylor, Twitter’s Independent Board Chair, said, “The Twitter Board conducted a thoughtful and comprehensive process to assess Elon’s proposal with a deliberate focus on value, certainty, and financing. The proposed transaction will deliver a substantial cash premium, and we believe it is the best path forward for Twitter’s stockholders.”

“Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated,” said Mr. Musk.

“I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans. Twitter has tremendous potential – I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it.”

The transaction, which has been unanimously approved by the Twitter board of directors, is expected to close in 2022, subject to the approval of Twitter stockholders, the receipt of applicable regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.

Musk has secured $25.5B of fully committed debt and margin loan financing and is providing an approximately $21B equity commitment.

There are no financing conditions to the closing of the transaction.

TWTR last traded at $51.63.

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Epic Games receives $2B cash infusion

Sony, Lego holding group invest $2B in Epic Games

“Fortnite” maker Epic Games announced a $2B round of funding to advance the company’s vision to build the metaverse and support its continued growth.

This round includes investments from existing investor Sony Group Corporation (SONY) as well as KIRKBI, the family-owned holding and investment company behind The LEGO Group, with each party investing $1B respectively.

Epic continues to have only a single class of common stock outstanding and remains controlled by its CEO and founder, Tim Sweeney.

“As a creative entertainment company, we are thrilled to invest in Epic to deepen our relationship in the metaverse field, a space where creators and users share their time.” said Kenichiro Yoshida, Chairman, President and CEO, Sony Group Corporation.

Tim Sweeney, Epic’s CEO and Founder

“We are also confident that Epic’s expertise, including their powerful game engine, combined with Sony’s technologies, will accelerate our various efforts such as the development of new digital fan experiences in sports and our virtual production initiatives.”

Epic’s post-money equity valuation is $31.5B.

The closing of the investment is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. Other investors in Epic Games include Tencent (TCEHY), KKR (KKR), and Disney (DIS).

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Ford does not plan to spin off EV business!

Ford CEO says no plans to spin off electric business or ICE business

Ford (F) CEO Jim Farley said while speaking at the Wolfe Research Auto, Auto Tech and Mobility conference:

Jim Farley, Ford CEO

“I wanted to talk quickly about running a successful ICE (internal combustion engines) business versus a BEV (battery-powered electric vehicle) business as we’re scaling. The customers are different.

The EV customers are not like our ICE customers. Our go-to-market as the result has to be digital, no inventory and remote. It’s different. We can bridge to it today, but we have to go much deeper…

Ford to launch 50 new vehicles in China. See Stockwinners.com

Ford will ensure we have the right structure and talent in place to compete and win in this digital software-enabled vehicle business, but as well to revitalize our ICE business.

And here, I really want to emphasize the shift that we’re thinking about.

There’s a lot of focus on the digital electric growth opportunity. But we believe we have lots of room on our ICE business for better quality, lower structural costs and radical reduction in complexity.

All electric Ford Mustang

And despite the press speculation, we have no plans to spin off our electric business or ICE business. It’s really more around focus and capabilities, expertise and talent. Those are key for Ford, and this is what we’re working on. Now many companies have studied this.

Some even have a person in charge of EVs here and there. But trust me, Ford will go deeper because we know our competition is Nio and Tesla, and we have to beat them, not match them…

Nio electric car

We believe and we acknowledge that we have upside in our ICE business and it’s critical that we leverage that and we’ve been working on and making progress to get to that 8% EBIT margin as a company…

We believe that both ICE and BEV portfolios are under-earning. Let me say that one more time. This management team firmly believes that our ICE and BEV portfolios are under-earning and that is not price. That is lower structural costs, improving our bill of material for our BEV vehicles and scaling…

Tesla Model 3

The net all of this is we have ample headroom for growth, as you said, Rod, and increased our company EBIT margin target to get to that 8%… And what we want to get across to all of you is that we have a long view of Ford that we have rethought our entire portfolio.”

F last traded at $17.00, down 30 cents.

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Rig Counts Continue to Rise

Baker Hughes reports U.S. rig count up 7 to 586 rigs

Baker Hughes (BKR) reports that the U.S. rig count is up 7 from last week to 586 with oil rigs up 5 to 480, gas up 2 to 106, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 0.

The U.S. Rig Count is up 238 rigs from last year’s count of 348, with oil rigs up 216 gas rigs up 23 and miscellaneous rigs down 1.

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The U.S. Offshore Rig Count is unchanged at 15, down 2 year-over-year.

The Canada Rig Count is down 34 from last week to 133, with oil rigs down 20 to 84, gas rigs down 13 to 49 and miscellaneous rig down 1 to 0.

The Canada Rig Count is up 51 rigs from last year’s count of 82, with oil rigs up 53, gas rigs down 2 and miscellaneous rigs unchanged.

The international offshore rig count for April 2018 was 194. Stockwinners

The Baker Hughes rig counts are counts of the number of drilling rigs actively exploring for or developing oil or natural gas in the U.S., Canada and international markets.

The Company has issued the rig counts as a service to the petroleum industry since 1944, when Hughes Tool Company began weekly counts of the U.S. and Canadian drilling activity. The monthly international rig count was initiated in 1975.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is up $1.07 to $73.83 per barrel. Brent crude is up $1.38 to $76.66 per barrel. Gasoline last traded at $2.211 per gallon up 4.6 cents on the day.

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Economic Activities Slowed in December

U.S. flash Markit PMIs all slipped in December

U.S. flash Markit Purchasing Managers Index’s (PMI) all slipped in December as activity eased amid well known headwinds such as capacity constraints and Omicron variant spread.

Flash Manufacturing PMI is an estimate of manufacturing for a country, based on about 85% to 90% of total Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) survey responses each month.

Any reading of the Flash Manufacturing PMI above 50 indicates improving conditions, while readings below 50 indicate a deteriorating economic climate.

The manufacturing index fell another -0.5 ticks to 57.8 in December after dipping -0.1 ticks to 58.3 in November. It is the weakest since the 57.1 last December.

The index has been sliding from the record high of 63.4 in July, but it remains in expansion for an 18th straight month.

New orders declined to 56.3 from 56.9, while supplier delivers increased to their best reading since May.

The preliminary services index also fell -0.5 ticks to 57.5 on the month following the -0.7 point decline to 58.0. The reading is above the 54.8 from a year ago, however, and has been above 50 since July 2020.

The business expectations component improved to its highest reading since November 2020.

Input prices climbed to 77.4 versus 75.7 last month and is at an all-time peak (data goes back to 2009).

The composite reading dipped -0.3 ticks to 56.9 from November’s 57.2 and was at 55.3 last December. Input prices increased to a new record level at 78.1 from November’s 77.6.

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Intel to spin off MobilEye

Intel confirms intent to take Mobileye public

The company (INTC) states: “Intel announced its intention to take Mobileye public in the United States in mid-2022 via an initial public offering of newly issued Mobileye stock.

The move will unlock the value of Mobileye for Intel shareholders by creating a separate publicly traded company and will build on Mobileye’s successful track record and serve its expanded market.

Intel will remain the majority owner of Mobileye, and the two companies will continue as strategic partners, collaborating on projects as they pursue the growth of computing in the automotive sector.

The share of semiconductors is expected to be 20% of a premium vehicle’s total bill-of-materials (BOM) by 20301.

The Mobileye executive team will remain, with Prof. Amnon Shashua continuing as the company’s CEO.

Amnon Shashua

Recently acquired Moovit as well as Intel teams working on lidar and radar development and other Mobileye projects will be aligned as part of Mobileye.

In the four years since Mobileye was acquired by Intel, Mobileye has experienced substantial revenue growth, achieved numerous technical innovations and made significant investments directed to solving the most difficult scientific and technology problems to prepare the deployment of autonomous driving at scale.

A final decision on the IPO and its conditions and ultimate timing is pending and subject to market conditions. Intel, as majority shareholder, will continue to fully consolidate Mobileye. The transaction is not expected to have an impact on Intel’s 2021 financial targets.”

INTC is up $1.34 to $52.30.

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Hydrogen Fuel Cell Gets a boost from S. Korea

SK Ecoplant to invest $500M in Bloom Energy through expanded partnership

Bloom Energy (BE) and SK Ecoplant, an affiliate of South Korean conglomerate SK Group (SKM), announced the companies are expanding their existing partnership.

The partnership includes purchasing a minimum of 500 megawatts, or MW, from Bloom Energy, representing a $4.5B revenue commitment; co-creating two hydrogen innovation centers; and targeting an equity investment of approximately $500M.

Since the start of their strategic partnership three years ago, Bloom Energy and SK ecoplant have transacted nearly 200 MW of projects together totaling more than $1.8B of equipment and expected service revenue.

Fuel Cells powered solely by Hydrogen

Over the next three years the companies will expand this existing business with contracts for at least an additional 500 MW of power between 2022 and 2025, representing approximately $4.5B in equipment and future service revenue.

Bloom Energy and SK ecoplant agreed to create Hydrogen Innovation Centers in the United States and South Korea.

The intent is to accelerate the global market expansion for Bloom Energy’s hydrogen fuel cell and hydrogen electrolyzer products.

The agreement also reflects both Bloom Energy and SK ecoplant’s enhanced commitment to a zero-carbon future and the further implementation of environmental, social and governance practices.

In addition, Bloom Energy and SK ecoplant agreed to strengthen their alliance through expanding business cooperation in global markets, which may include exclusive distribution rights in select new markets.

SK ecoplant will invest $255M in Bloom Energy by acquiring 10M shares of zero coupon, non-voting redeemable convertible preferred stock at a price of $25.50 per share.

SK ecoplant has the option to acquire a minimum of an additional 11M shares of Class A common stock at a 15% premium to the prevailing stock price at the time, which must be no later than November 30, 2023 and is subject to a maximum ownership of 15%.

Upon completion of SK ecoplant’s purchase of its second tranche, SK ecoplant will add a member to the Bloom Energy board of directors. SK will give an irrevocable proxy to vote its shares to Bloom Energy.

The investment is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals and is expected to close within 45 days.

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When It rains, It pours!

Workhorse Group suspends deliveries of C-1000 vehicles, recalls 41 that it had delivered

Workhorse Group Inc. (WKHS) shares plunged on Wednesday to their lowest in fifteen months after the beleaguered electric-vehicle maker said it will suspend deliveries of its vans and recall units it has already delivered.

Workhorse Group (WKHS) provided an update to its ongoing review of the Company’s business and go-forward operating and commercial plans to transition from an advanced technology start-up to an efficient manufacturing company.

The electric van, called the C-1000, would require additional testing and modifications to existing vehicles in order to certify them under federal motor vehicle safety standards, the company said in a statement.

The Company stopped delivery of its C-1000

The Company has identified a number of enhancements in the production process and design of the C-1000 to address customer feedback, primarily related to vehicle dynamics to increase the vehicles’ payload capacity.

As Workhorse has identified these enhancements and continued its review and redesign of the C-1000, the Company has decided to suspend deliveries of C-1000 vehicles and recall 41 vehicles it has already delivered.

As part of these efforts, the new leadership team has determined that additional testing and modifications to existing vehicles are required to certify the C-1000 vehicles under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard.

The Company expects to complete testing in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Workhorse intends to provide an update on its operating and commercial plans on its upcoming third quarter 2021 earnings call.

The Company has filed a report with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration regarding the need for additional testing and vehicle modifications to certify its C-1000 vehicles under FMVSS, and intends to fully coordinate with NHTSA.

The Company has not received any customer reports of safety issues related to this matter in any of the C-1000 vehicles previously delivered by Workhorse.

Additional details will be available in the Company’s filing with NHTSA.

Accordingly, the Company’s previous statements related to the C-1000’s compliance with NHTSA standards cannot be relied upon and the Company has so notified the Securities and Exchange Commission.

#Cowen analyst Jeffrey #Osborne lowered his price target on the company to $7.50 from $8.50, and also reduced his estimates for 2021 and 2022 after the announcement, saying a “turnaround appears more challenging.” The analyst also expects working capital to likely be challenged due to prepayments for batteries and other critical materials.

According to some reports, the company is being investigated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as disappointment related to losing out on a U.S. Postal Service contract that many had expected Workhorse to win.

WKHS closed at $7.41. Shares have a 52-week high of $42.96.

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This article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility.

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