(BFM Bourse) – The stock of the electric truck maker jumped nearly 20% on Wall Street on Thursday in response to the announcement of its first delivery, an important milestone and reached on time, compared to the schedule Nikola had advanced.
At the wrong time, the title Nikola reacted strongly on Thursday to the announcement of the first delivery completed by the producer of electric heavyweights to the port of Los Angeles, however dating from last Friday – as indicated by Nikola in this tweet.
If it had then taken 7.1% in reaction to this information, it was followed by a decline of 7.3% from the following Monday, despite this milestone which constitutes an important step in the history of ‘a manufacturer of electric vehicles – especially since it allowed Nikola to keep its promise to make its first deliveries in Q4 2021.
With a few days of delay, Wall Street thus ended up being enthusiastic, this Thursday, after the company repeated –still on Twitter– that its first customer had been delivered, which suggests other deliveries. This communication resulted in a surge of 18% of the title Nikola, to 11.09 dollars, the highest for more than a month. Shortly before 11:30 am this Friday, it is still expected to rise by around 4% according to trade before “pre-market” on Wall Street.
First deliveries
The group therefore delivered two Nikola TRE (model with a Bosch electric motor with a continuous power of 480 kW (645 hp) and an electric axle designed and produced by FPT Industrial, a subsidiary of Iveco) ordered by Total Transportation Services Inc. (TTSI), a California-based logistics company, in a pilot project with two electric trucks and two hydrogen trucks. They are to be used in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. If the experience is satisfactory, TTSI will order a total of 100 vehicles from Nikola. “Production, performance and maintenance will be key, and we are confident that Nikola will excel on all three fronts,” said Vic LaRosa, the boss of TTSI quoted in the statement.
The group still plans to sell 25 in total by the end of the year, as expected in November, a spokeswoman confirmed to AFP. However, this is much less than the 50 and 100 vehicles initially announced, the group having to revise its ambitions downwards in August, then again in November, due to supply problems.
Nikola to pay SEC 125 million
Nikola made his debut on Wall Street in June 2020, when his stock peaked at nearly $ 80 at the close just days after its listing (via a Spac) at a price of $ 10 a share. Which then valued the group which had not yet produced any vehicle at nearly $ 30 billion, more than Ford – against 4.5 billion at the close of Thursday. The stock jumped again in early September on news of a promising partnership with General Motors that seemed to bring legitimacy to the company founded in 2015, before collapsing three months later when GM finally gave up on a stake. to its capital, and that its CEO had to resign following accusations of sexual assault, as well as accusations formulated in September 2020 by the short seller Hindenburg Research.
The latter accused the group of having deceived its investors as to the allegedly developed technologies, its report highlighting multiple arrangements with reality in the official speech of the automaker – in particular during the broadcast of an advertising spot presenting a version apparently wheel of a truck during the Super Bowl, when the vehicle had only coasted down a hill.
The report triggered the opening of proceedings by the SEC, which delivered its verdict on Tuesday. “Nikola is both responsible for the misleading statements of Trevor Milton (his former CEO, Editor’s note) and other deceptions, all of which have falsely represented the real status of the company financially and technologically,” said in a press release Gurbir Grewal, responsible for implementing rules at the SEC.
Electric and hydrogen-powered truck maker Nikola confirmed on Tuesday that it will pay the U.S. stock market policeman $ 125 million to end the dispute. The payment of the fine will be made in five semi-annual installments over a period of two years, and Nikola said he was “happy to close this chapter, all government investigations being completed” added the group which neither recognizes nor denies the facts with which he was accused.
Quentin Soubranne – © 2021 BFM Bourse