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Shares of Nikola Corp.
NKLA,
pulled an intraday U-turn to trade sharply lower Thursday, after the electric vehicle maker reported a narrower-than-expected loss but revenue that fell well short of forecasts.
The stock had climbed as much as 3.4% in the first few minutes after the opening bell, but closed down 5.6% at a seven-week low of $2.20. It was hovering just above the Dec. 14 record closing low of $2.11.
Before the opening bell, the company reported net fourth-quarter net losses that widened to $222.1 million, or 46 cents a share, from $90.9 million, or 39 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding nonrecurring items, such as acquisition transaction costs and regulatory and legal matters, adjusted per-share losses widened to 37 cents from 23 cents, but beat the FactSet loss consensus of 43 cents.
The Arizona-based company recorded revenue of $6.56 million during the quarter, after zero revenue a year ago, but that missed the FactSet consensus of $32.12 million. Truck sales for the quarter totaled $4.7 million while service and other sales totaled $1.9 million.
The cost of revenue was $52.3 million, including $49.3 million in costs for truck sales and $3.0 million in costs for service and other sales.
Nikola said it produced 133 Nikola Tre battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) during the quarter and delivered 20 of them to dealers. It expects to deliver its first Tre fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEVs) to customers in the second half of 2023.
“During the fourth quarter, we strengthened out commercial and sales operations, which is expected to lead to increased sales and accelerated customer deliveries,” said Chief Executive Michael Lohscheller.
The company expects to deliver 250 to 350 Tre BEVs in the 2023, and to deliver 125 to 150 Tre FCEVs in the fourth quarter of this year.
Nikola’s stock dropped 7.6% over the past three months and has tumbled 72.6% over the past 12 months, while the S&P 500
SPX,
has eased 0.4% the past three months and declined 6.4% the past year.
