What happened
After stalling in August and the beginning of September, shares of Lucid (LCID 0.41%) are racing higher this morning. Investors are powering their portfolios with the electric-vehicle (EV) manufacturer's stock in response to a tech website's report that the company's production rate has increased. In addition, positive news from an analyst is also motivating investors to click the buy button.
As of 10:28 a.m. ET, shares of Lucid are up 5.5%.
So what
Citing an "internal source" and a forum for owners of Lucid EVs, the tech website Wccftech.com claims that Lucid has 40 to 50 vehicles per day rolling off its production line. The company is expected to increase this daily production to 50 to 60 vehicles shortly.
This represents a notable increase over the company's previous production rate of five to 15 vehicles per day. If this reporting is accurate, it implies that Lucid's recent shakeup in the C-suite is having a positive effect and suggests a greater likelihood that Lucid will be able to achieve its 2022 production forecast of 6,000 to 7,000 vehicles.
The other catalyst behind the stock's rise today is the auspicious opinion of Jaime Perez, an analyst at R.F. Lafferty. Perez initiated coverage on the stock with a buy rating and a $19 price target. Based on the stock's recent closing price of $15.08, the price target implies upside of 26%.
Now what
While Wddftech.com is reporting that production has ramped up at Lucid, investors should be circumspect about believing the claim. It may certainly be true, but a more judicious approach would be to wait for the company to confirm the increase in run rate.
Furthermore, one analyst's bullish opinion on the stock is encouraging, but it's unclear what the analyst's horizon is for offering the price target, so EV investors should take it with a few grains of salt.
