What happened
Electric vehicle (EV) stocks are stuck in reverse today. Shares of Nikola (NKLA 7.23%) are continuing to face pressure after the company announced second-quarter financial results and a shake-up in its C-suite. Workhorse Group (WKHS -0.13%) is also seeing a sell-off after it reported second-quarter results this morning. Fisker (FSRN -12.70%), on the other hand, is seeing its stock tumble today after two analysts have shared pessimistic outlooks on the EV upstart.
As of 11:19 a.m. ET on Tuesday, Nikola stock was down 5.9%, bouncing back after its earlier slide of 12.1%. Similarly, Workhorse Group stock, down 6.8%, had pared back some of its earlier 16.1% loss, and shares of Fisker were down 2%, recovering from an earlier slide of 5.7%.
So what
Last Friday, Nikola provided its second-quarter results, and investors weren't happy. Coming up shy of analysts' estimates, revenue fell more than 15% compared to the same period last year.
Another factor figuring into investors' decision to click the sell button is the abrupt departure of the company's CEO, Michael Lohscheller. Nikola hasn't had much consistency in the C-suite, and this move is providing added consternation for investors.
With second-quarter revenue of $4 million, Workhorse Group failed to meet analysts' expectation that the company would book $14.9 million on the top line. There wasn't much to celebrate further down the income statement, either, as the company reported negative $23 million in net income, a steeper loss than the negative $21.2 million for the same period last year.
Besides the company's recent performance, it's the less auspicious view of the remainder of 2023 that is driving shares lower. Management revised 2023 revenue guidance downward, now projecting $65 million to $85 million -- notably lower than the forecast of $75 million to $125 million that it provided in the first-quarter financial report.
Believing that Fisker stock is headed lower, Barclays analyst Dan Levy dropped his price target to $5 from $6 and kept an underweight rating on the shares this morning. Based on yesterday's closing price of $5.95, Levy's price target implies downside of 16%.
The lower price target is the second such reduction in as many days. Yesterday, Jaime Perez, an analyst at R.F. Lafferty, dropped his price target on shares of Fisker to $9 from $10.
Now what
For growth companies like Nikola and Workhorse Group, investors had high expectations that they would report strong sales growth in their quarterly results -- something that both companies have failed to accomplish during the recently completed quarter.
Pair that with Nikola's lack of consistency on the management team and Workhorse Group's sharply less auspicious outlook for 2023, and it's no wonder that both EV stocks are losing ground today.
For those on the sidelines, though, it's important to recognize that these aren't the only concerns plaguing the companies; therefore, investors who are interested in parking these EV stocks in their portfolios will want to dig deeper and be clear about the risks first.
As for Fisker, the analysts' price target cuts are disappointing, but they should be taken with some grains of salt. Analysts often have short investing horizons, so those committed to buying and holding Fisker for the long term shouldn't pay much mind to the lower price targets.
