What happened
Shares of electric vehicle stock Lordstown Motors (RIDE) sank on Monday, dropping 9.3% as of 3:15 p.m. EDT.
With yet another rival surfacing, even a massive analyst upgrade failed to convince the market about the electric truck start-up's prospects. Lordstown Motors shares have now tumbled 25.6% in October alone, as of this writing.
So what
Last week, Lordstown Motors announced a partnership with Hon-Hai Precision Industry, better known as Foxconn, to sell its assembly plant in Ohio for $230 million.
Terms of the agreement include giving up the rights to manufacture its only pickup, the Endurance, to Foxconn under contract manufacturing and selling Foxconn shares worth $50 million at a price of $6.8983 a share. Investors in Lordstown Motors weren't happy with the development.
Moreover, Lordstown Motors also announced it plans to build only a limited number of vehicles through the first half of 2022 and bumped up its expenditure forecast for the year despite already facing a severe cash crunch.
These factors, among other things, sent Lordstown Motors shares crashing double-digits on Oct. 1, and they're extending those losses today. Smart investors, instead of betting on the stock based on some analysts' views, are awaiting further updates about Endurance production and delivery timelines at a time when rivals continue to leap ahead.
Image source: Getty Images.
Morgan Stanley, for example, raised its price target on Lordstown Motors shares to $8 a share soon after the company announced its Foxconn deal. Today, RBC Capital also raised its price target on Lordstown Motors to $5 a share from $1 per share as it believes the company's deal with Foxconn will infuse much-needed capital and reduce Lordstown Motors' cash burn. RBC Capital, though, still sees a rough road ahead for Lordstown Motors as its Endurance will compete with the likes of Ford Motor Company's (F -0.04%) F-150 Lightning Pro.
Just last month, Ford announced plans to double F-150 Lightning production to 80,000 a year given that the company has already received 150,000 reservations for its electric pickup.
Meanwhile, Michigan-based electric-truck start-up Rivian has filed for an initial public offering, with its filing revealing the company had already received 48,390 preorders combined for its five-passenger truck R1T and seven-passenger SUV R1S, as of Sept. 30.
Now what
With Lordstown Motors last stating it will update investors about Endurance production only in November, the stock will likely remain volatile as investors and traders alike make decisions on the stock based on the developments in the electric vehicle industry.
