What happened
With the S&P 500 creeping about 1.1% higher this week, Solid Power's stock (SLDP 3.80%) swiftly headed in the other direction. Between a shakeup in the C-suite and a bearish outlook echoing on Wall Street, the pessimism regarding the solid-state battery designer was too overpowering for the bulls to overcome.
As of the market's close on Friday, shares of Solid Power plummeted 28.6% since the end of last Friday's trading session, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence.
So what
On Tuesday, investors learned that Douglas Campbell, Solid Power's CEO, is retiring, thus leaving his position at the company's helm, effective immediately. Campbell, a co-founder of the company who had served as the CEO for 11 years, will be replaced by David Jansen who will act as Solid Power's interim CEO.
Shortly after Solid Power announced the changes to its executive team, Wall Street responded. D.A. Davidson analyst, Michael Shlisky, downgraded the stock to neutral from buy and slashed his price target to $5 from $13. Shlisky predicated his downward revisions on the abruptness of the managerial changes and stated that with regards to the company's future, he's "not sure what to expect from here," according to Thefly.com.
Vincent Anderson, an analyst at Stifel, took a similar tack on Friday. Anderson initiated coverage on the stock with a hold rating and a $5 price target.
Now what
Investors rarely enjoy seeing turmoil in a company's leadership team, so the stock's decline isn't that shocking, especially when paired with inauspicious outlooks from Wall Street. Attempting to disrupt the conventional battery industry with its solid-state battery offerings, Solid Power is a speculative growth stock that should only draw the interest of those comfortable with a healthy dose of risk.
