Fisker stock surges nearly 30% as EV maker closer to marketing key electric SUV
By Tomi Kilgore and Claudia Assis
Ocean's announcement a 'major step' in Fisker's journey
Fisker Inc. shares jumped nearly 30% Monday after the electric-vehicle maker reported a wider-than-expected loss and revenue that came up short, but maintained its 2023 production targets and said it was close to being able to sell a key EV.
Fisker (FSR) reported a loss of $170.1 million, or 54 cents a share, compared with a loss of $138.4 million, or 47 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose to $306,000 from $41,000.
The FactSet consensus was for a loss of 41 cents a share on revenue of $1.1 million. The company said it had over $736 million in cash at the end of 2022, which was more than expected.
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Investors looked past the missed expectations, however, to focus on Fisker's announcement that the electric luxury SUV Fisker Ocean is on track to be homologated, or cleared for sale, in March, with first deliveries happening "shortly after."
That's "a major step in an expected long journey of necessary execution for Fisker," Chris McNally at Evercore ISI said in a note Monday.
"This stock must now go from 'concept' in the mind of investors (high skepticism), to reality, with the burden of proof moving to Fisker's ability to show they can deliver on targets and business model," including driving "significant" demand for the Ocean and earn a "strong" return on total capital through its model of contract manufacturing, the analyst said.
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Fisker said it still expects to produce 42,400 vehicles in 2023, and expects total expenses of $535 million to $610 million, which is less than 2022 total spending of $702 million.
The stock has tumbled 24.1% over the past three months through Friday, while the S&P 500 index has lost 1.4%. In a year's time, Fisker shares have lost about 37%, compared with a decline of about 9% for the S&P 500.
-Tomi Kilgore
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 27, 2023 12:26 ET (17:26 GMT)
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