What happened
Shares of Workhorse Group (WKHS -0.12%) have been quietly jumping all week, having gained 36% in just four days. The move up continued today with shares 13.2% higher as of 1:50 p.m. ET.
So what
This week's jump seems to be due to investors taking notice of some large insider stock buys in the electric delivery vehicle maker in recent days. Though the sharp jump in the stock price still doesn't have shares in positive territory for the year, investors may be thinking there is good news coming soon and that the stock has bottomed for now.
Image source: Getty Images.
Workhorse CEO Rick Dauch just reported the purchase of 50,000 new shares worth more than $150,000. That was after Stan March, another company officer, disclosed the purchase of an additional 50,000 shares. March, who is the company's vice president of corporate development and communications, reported his purchases at the end of last week.
Now what
Investors may be taking these insider stock buys as a sign the company might be ready to turn itself around. Workhorse had to recall, and then repurchase, 41 of its initial electric delivery trucks from customers late last year. At the time, the company stated "additional testing and modifications to existing vehicles are required to certify the C-1000 vehicles under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS)."
In its recently released fourth-quarter and full-year 2021 financial update, Workhorse said it is working to repair the vehicles and is taking a "major impairment charge" for the issue. That, and other problems, have caused the stock to drop about 75% over the last 12 months. Investors seem to think the recent insider buys mark a bottom for the shares.
