What happened
Shares of Hyliion (HYLN +1.84%), XL Fleet (XL +1.24%), and Property Solutions Acquisition (PSAC +0.00%), the special-purpose acquisition company that is reportedly preparing to merge with electric-vehicle start-up Faraday, were all trading higher on Tuesday after the Biden administration announced measures to boost electric vehicle adoption in the U.S.
Here's where things stood for these three companies' stocks as of 1 p.m. EST, relative to their closing prices on Monday:
- Hyliion's shares were up about 12%
- Property Solutions' stock was up about 13.1%
- XL Fleet was up about 8.8%
So what
President Joe Biden said on Monday that he plans to replace the U.S. government's fleet of roughly 650,000 vehicles with zero-emissions electric models made in the United States. He also reiterated his plan to build 550,000 new electric-vehicle charging stations over the next few years.
Not surprisingly, the news sent investors scrambling to buy shares of the companies that could benefit -- those that are making, or that plan to make, electric vehicles in U.S factories and that might be in position to win orders from the government.
Hyliion could see indirect benefits from the Biden administration's electric-vehicle initiatives. Image source: Hyliion.
Shares of companies like Workhorse Group (WKHS +0.00%), Lordstown Motors (RIDE +11.11%), Nikola (NKLA +0.00%), and electric truck battery maker Romeo Power (RMO +0.00%) were all sharply higher in early trading, unsurprisingly.
But what of the three companies here? On the surface, they don't seem likely to win much business from the Feds. Are their stocks just rising along with the group's?
Now what
Hyliion, which plans to offer hybrid and fuel-cell powertrains for heavy trucks, will certainly benefit to the extent that the Biden administration's measures spur heavy-truck fleet operators to move to green(er) vehicles. Likewise for XL Fleet, which offers electrification systems that can be retrofitted to light- and medium-duty trucks.
As for Property Solutions, which might be close to a deal to merge with electric luxury car start-up Faraday, we have to assume that it's just along for the ride. Investors should proceed with extra caution here.
