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Why do they say 3rd fire,... I remember only 1 before this one.
Best attempt at translate and copy paste
Sunshine follows the storm clouds
Nikola Motors stock has come under pressure. The reasons for this are - felt - the departure of Michael Lohscheller as CEO (illness in the family) and the announcement that the sales targets for the battery-powered BEV-Tre (there should be 350 to 500 in 2023) will not be achieved. In addition, a 5 percent convertible bond with a nominal value of US$325 million was announced and the divisional manager for the hydrogen division of the subsidiary HYLA has left the company. In addition, two incidents are being investigated: there was a fire due to two defective cells (out of a total of 3,100) in battery-electric trucks and leaking cooling water. As a result, the delivered vehicles were recalled for the purpose of testing. In addition, battery supplier Proterra went under bankruptcy protection (Chapter 11 - Operations continue).
What to make of all this?
A steep template for short sellers, which is reflected in the recent price slump, which sold over 138 million shares short in order to participate in falling share prices. But there is another side to the story – one that is more relevant to me:
CEO Lohscheller was replaced by Steve Girsky. The man has been with Nikola since the start of the IPO. He brought Lohscheller to Opel and then to Nikola. He was on the board of General Motors and is considered to be responsible for its restructuring at the time (government loan/guarantee from the Obama administration).
In one – the first – interview with the trade journal Freightwaves on August 17, 2023, the new CEO made a statement. In it he describes the path that Nikola has taken in turbulent times. Original sound: "My top priority is not to lose momentum." Nikola has already achieved so much and will go his own way, according to the summary of the interview.
Capital situation
As a result of the approval of the increase in the shares to be issued from 800 million to 1.6 billion shares at the AGM in early August, Nikola now has the opportunity to issue more shares in order to generate equity. To this end, an existing ATM program (at the market – sale via the stock exchange) worth US$ 600 million was extended with Citicorp on August 4, 2023.
Note: Nikola says it needs a total of $600 million to turn the company into profitability over the next two years. This is forecast for 2025 (cash flow positive).
A convertible bond with a five percent coupon and a nominal value of US$ 325 million is now being brought onto the market. The good thing is that institutional investors are very happy to buy such investments (possibly a green bond - depends on the use of the funds) and get more security than if they buy shares. Since a convertible bond can optionally be exchanged for shares, this can potentially become equity if the share rises sharply and brings the holder of this security a special profit (price gain). Then borrowed capital becomes equity.
Sufficient liquidity available
If you add up all possible forms of financing and procurement of liquidity, Nikola has arithmetically over US$ 743 million in potential as of the beginning of July. Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the second quarter were $295.4 million - see above. This includes proceeds from the deal with Iveco of $26.5 million and the $49 million land sale (sale and lease back) of the company's Coolidge property. Proceeds from the sale of the proposed hydrogen production at Buckeye to Fortescue Future Industries of US$20.7 million are included in the total liquidity in July but not in the figure as of June 30, 2023, leaving Nikola with over US$316.1 million .US$ in cash available.
What to make of all the corporate actions?
I think Nikola should have waited to raise capital through the stock exchange (ATM) and convertible bonds. Good news such as sales successes with the FCEV-Tre would be the template for this - rising share prices. On the other hand, Nikola wants to be fully financed over the next two years. Once there are US$ 600 million in the bank, things will calm down and Nikola can concentrate on selling the FCEV-Tre in particular. Then even short sellers have problems with arguments if Nikola no longer has any capital requirements that would have to be covered externally.
Paragraph of the BEV Tre
There are many reasons why there will be fewer deliveries of battery-electric vehicles in the further course of the year. The recent recall may have a negative effect. Meanwhile, Nikola sees his future in hydrogen-powered trucks rather than battery-electric ones, and the FCEV-Tre has only been in series production since late July. There are 200 pre-orders for it. After all, there are subsidy programs that amount to a good US$ 320,000 per truck - probably costs US$ 400,000. It gets exciting here when larger orders come in – the probability of this is very high.
Capital requirement decreases significantly
Two years ago, Nikola needed more than US$ 200 million per quarter (including the construction of the halls and infrastructure), the capital requirement per quarter is expected to drop to US$ 100 million by the end of 2023. The outflow of liquidity (cash burn) is still around US$ 150 million per quarter. In 2022 it was still over US$ 240 million per quarter. This shows that Nikola is well positioned until the company is fully up and running.
LoI with Anheuser Busch forgotten
The large brewery group Anheuser Busch (BUD) holds Nikola's pole. Years ago, both signed a letter of intent (LoI) together, according to which 800 FCEV Tres could be ordered. Several are already driving in the test run of the subcontractor Biagi Brothers without any problems and probably already more than 12,000 miles. What happens on the stock exchange when BUD turns the LoI into an order and thus catapults the order backlog to 1,000 FCEV Tres?
The reports of the past few weeks
Two programs to promote the hydrogen infrastructure in California were won for Nikola. There are grants of over US$ 58 million for eight hydrogen filling stations. This is very positive, since Nikola has already signed an agreement with Volterra (subsidiary of EQT, a fund) to build 50 H 2 filling stations (up to US$ 1 billion investment?) over the coming years and receives further support through the grant.
JB Hunt was able to secure an order for 13 electric trucks (10 battery-electric and 3 hydrogen-powered). This company operates its own extensive fleet, but also provides goods/freight transportation services for over 1 million trucks in the United States. That looks like a through ball for a lot more.
Conclusion
Nikola is a start-up in a new growth market and also a first mover. Start-ups usually (always) have initial difficulties - but they pass and can be solved. Problem detected - problem banned. Nikola does very good crisis PR - goes public with all problems immediately. If all capital measures have been successfully completed, Nikola is well financed and can fully concentrate on the development and expansion of the company. Current uncertainties refer to the stock market rule: buy on bad news. All negative news is included in the share price, but not the possible positive ones (eg orders). Sunshine follows the storm clouds
UPDATE: Context of the conversation made it sound like the order was for the Tre FCEV, but @JasonRoycht confirms that the order was for the Tre BEV 👇 https://t.co/uEVmhIK8Li
(
)UPDATE: Context of the conversation made it sound like the order was for the Tre FCEV, but @JasonRoycht confirms that the order was for the Tre BEV 👇 pic.twitter.com/uEVmhIK8Li
— Nate Meininger (@NathanMeininger) August 10, 2023
3-5 minutes into this video they talk about a new deal being worked on for 100 FC Tre's!
Found it, both at 7:30am MST
Anyone know what time Earnings are announced,... Also will there be an on line presentation with questions,... If so at what time.
Thanks
The Nikola hydrogen fuel cell electric truck, with a range of up to 500 miles, is officially in production. Contact a dealer to order yours today: https://t.co/pzav8PgXVa pic.twitter.com/ZzXe3RasfP
— Nikola Corporation (@nikolamotor) July 31, 2023
I see earnings coming out Thursday Aug 3rd
Alot of good things coming soon and once they start, good possibility they won't stop for a long while!
100 million volume in first 15 min
$2.72 and 5 million at 4:30am
2.4 million volume already at 4am in premarket
$2.68
Previous post about Walmart was from 1 year ago so a deal can happen anytime
About 3 million volume so far in afterhours,... Price holding up well!
Imagine what it would do if/when we got a 100 FCEV from Walmart,...
300 million volume in a minute or two,... Could close at a new HOD
10 million in volume in just last 10 min, we should easily top 300 million in 80 minutes
250 million with 90 min to go,... can we get to 300 million?
Volume just passed 200 million shares!
Yes but if they can issue 100 million shares at $5 (when we get there hopefully soon).
$500 million would allow them to move super fast and stay ahead of the competition, especially with HYLA installations.
Unlike the past management, i trust the leadership now!
Just now more than 5 million shares in less than 5 minutes!
I wouldn't want to be a NKLA short today,..
Old news but never saw the video before!
Looks like news is getting out,... Might finally break $1.50 today!
Stuttgart, Germany – Bosch is entering the hydrogen age of mobility. At its Stuttgart-Feuerbach location, the supplier of technology and services has now begun volume production of its fuel-cell power module. Nikola Corporation, based in the United States, will serve as the pilot customer with its Class 8 hydrogen fuel cell electric truck, which is scheduled to enter the North American market in the third quarter of 2023. “Here in Stuttgart-Feuerbach, in the plant whose history goes back further than any other Bosch plant, the hydrogen future is about to happen,”
More details on sale of land lease.
http://stocktwits.com/Urfin/message/535549746