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With Nikola’s permission
Nikola
stocks are falling again Thursday after an early investor said he was selling shares and Deutsche Bank issued a warning about the capital construction plans of a hydrogen fuel truck manufacturer.
Nikola stock (ticker: NKLA) is down 7.1% in midday trading to $ 15.22 a share. The
S&P 500
down about 0.4%.
South Korea based business company
Hanwha
(000880.Korea), an early investor in Nikola, sells half the interest in the company. Coming in Thursday, Hanwha owned about 5.7% of the Nikola, or 22 million shares. The sale was announced in a regulatory filing Wednesday.
Investors don’t like to see early investors sell low. Nikola’s stock is off about 70% from recent highs. But large blocks of stock sold can push prices down as well.
The publication of Hanwha is not the only thing that impresses Nikola. Deutsche Bank analyst Emmanuel Rosner recently met with CEO Mark Russell and CFO Kim Brady and came away feeling better about Nikola ‘s fuel cell contributions. However, Rosner pointed out in a report Thursday that Nikola needs about $ 1 billion more before he can reach equilibrium. He fears a major capital increase is coming in 2021.
Rosner has a Hold rating and a $ 26 price target on Nikola stock.
Overall, two out of eight analysts, or 25%, rate Nikola’s purchase. Cowen and Jeffrey Kauffman from Loop Capital have the Buy ratings from Jeffery Osborne. Osborne’s price target is $ 47 per portion. Kauffman sees shares hit $ 35. The average analyst price target, however, is close to $ 28, far above where shares trade.
Write to Al Root at [email protected]