Electric Vehicle Stocks Continue Soaring

Cars and Drivers

Published: January 7, 2021 12:36 pm

If the market for electric vehicles (EVs) was as hot as the market for stocks of EV makers, we’d all be driving past abandoned gas stations with a friendly wave at a distant past. For now, however, we have to settle for shopping among EV stocks.

Because only one EV maker is making a profit (and a small one at that compared to its share price), there are no bargains in the sector based on expected profits in the 2021 fiscal year. However, if you compare these companies’ current trading prices, there are some big gaps between prices now and potential gains compared to 52-week highs.

We have looked at eight EV makers with stocks trading somewhere between 5% and more than 80% below their current 52-week highs and at even steeper discounts to the most bullish price target. These may be the very definition of momentum stocks. Caveat emptor.

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) posted a new 52-week high of $808.69 Thursday morning, after adding about 7% to its closing price of $755.98 on Wednesday. The stock’s 52-week low is $70.10, and the consensus price target is $789.12. Tesla stock trades at a multiple of more than 190 times expected 2021 earnings per share (EPS) and 43% below its highest price target. At last look, the stock traded at $805.00.

Nio Ltd. (NYSE: NIO) traded up about 6.9% Thursday morning, in a 52-week range of $2.11 to $57.20. At that trading price, shares trade about 5.7% below their 52-week high and about 20% below their high price target of around $65 a share. Nio is expected to post a loss per share of $0.33 in fiscal year 2021.

Workhorse Group Inc. (NASDAQ: WKHS) traded up more than 9% late Thursday morning to $25.82, after closing at $23.65 on Wednesday. The stock’s 52-week range is $1.32 to $30.99, and at the recent price, the stock trades about 17% below its 52-week high and more than 12% below its high price target.

Li Auto Inc. (NASDAQ: LI) added about 8.5% to its share price Thursday morning, trading at $34.50, after closing Wednesday at $31.76. The stock’s 52-week range is $14.31 to $47.70. The company is expected to post a loss per share of $0.02 in 2021. At the current price, the stock trades about 28% below its 52-week high and about 75% below its high price target.

Xpeng Inc. (NYSE: XPEV) traded at around $43.20 Thursday morning, up 4.8% from Wednesday’s closing price of $41.23. The stock’s 52-week range is $17.11 to $74.49. The company is tabbed to post a net loss of $0.39 a share in 2021, but shares currently trade around 51% below the 52-week high and 85% below the high price target.

Electrameccanica Vehicles Corp. (NASDAQ: SOLO) is based in Vancouver and is building a three-wheeled, one-passenger EV commuter vehicle called the Solo that sells for an manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $18,500. The stock traded up about 4.7%, near $7.00, after closing Wednesday at $6.65. Analysts expect the company to post a loss of $0.04 a share in 2021. Shares were trading at about 50% below their 52-week high and nearly 77% below the high price target.

Kandi Technologies Group Inc. (NASDAQ: KNDI) traded up about 5.5% Thursday morning to around $7.70. The stock’s 52-week range is $2.17 to $17.45, and the company is expected to post a 2021 loss per share of $0.15. Regardless of the reality, shares trade about 58% below their 52-week high and 65% below their high price target. Kandi was the target of a short-seller attack in late November that dragged the stock down from its 12-month high.

Nikola Corp. (NASDAQ: NKLA) traded Thursday morning at around $17.65, a 9% jump from Wednesday’s closing price. The stock’s 52-week range is $10.33 to $93.99, and the company’s expected loss per share in 2021 is pegged at $0.09. A short-seller attack in September has weighed heavily on the share price. Since posting its 52-week high in early June, shares had fallen more than 50% from their June IPO, as of Wednesday’s close. The stock trades at a discount of about 83% to its 52-week high and around 190% below the high price target.