Fisker Inc. shares, which fell toward another record high on Thursday, “have become something of a 'meme stock,'” according to Tom Bruni, lead writer for the Daily Rip & Markets newsletter at Stocktwits, a social platform for investors and investors. Merchants.
“Fisker has fostered a strong community of EV-focused retail investors by going public via SPAC during the pandemic,” Bruni told MarketWatch via email. “However, like other ‘meme stocks’, the company has since been unable to deliver the business results it so confidently expected.”
Bruni cited beloved original meme stock AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. AMC,
As a similar example, along with Fisker's fellow electric vehicle makers, Lucid Group Inc. LCID,
Mullen Automotive Company
and VinFast Auto Ltd. VFS,
All have experienced bouts of meme-like noise.
Related: Fisker loses its biggest rally as the electric car maker's stock breaks in value
Fisker FSR shares,
It briefly caught fire at the end of 2023, rising nearly 16% on December 29, but has since retreated and extended its winless streak to 12 sessions on Thursday. (Shares closed unchanged on January 9.)
The stock, which fell below $1 for the first time earlier this week, ended Thursday's session down 9.2%, marking its sixth straight record closing high.
Short interest as a percentage of the public offering of Fisker stock is also high at 47.3%, according to the latest exchange data. This is larger than the short interest ratios of AMC (11.8%), Lucid (26.8%), and Mullen (28.5%).
Data: These are the companies with the highest percentages of stocks sold short
Related: Short sellers are not evil, but they are misunderstood
The electric vehicle manufacturer is now revamping its business model in a bid to boost sales, deliveries and its test drive network. Earlier this month, Fisker abandoned its direct selling model in the US and introduced a new dealer partnership business model. In Europe, the company intends to follow a hybrid model of direct sales and agents. However, the company's shares continued to decline.
Fisker this week lost its most bullish analyst, with TD Cowen's Jeffrey Osborne citing the company's “unexpected growing pains” due to his loss of confidence.
“The company was unable to meet production and delivery targets, which is a big problem for a car company,” Stocktwits' Bruni told MarketWatch. “If they cannot figure out how to produce and sell their cars continuously and profitably, they will have to rely on constant financial engineering to survive.”
Related: Fisker is introducing a dealership model where it ditches direct sales, in an effort to boost its deliveries and test-drive network
“As Bed Bath & Beyond investors have seen, this strategy can only buy you time for so long,” Bruni said. Ultimately, the bottom line becomes the only thing that matters, he explained.
Fisker stock is down 85.8% in the past three months, compared with the Global
In November, the Manhattan Beach, California-based company reported widening quarterly losses and sales that exceeded analysts' expectations in its third-quarter results. However, Fisker said it produced 4,725 vehicles and sold 1,097 in the quarter.
Related: Fisker stock fell 14% after the electric car maker widened its losses and revenue fell short of estimates
The following month, Fisker announced it was ramping up its service teams, with nearly 100 customer service technicians now working in 20 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces, the company said. In a Dec. 29 business update that sent the company's shares soaring, Fisker said 10,142 Fisker Oceans will be produced in 2023, with approximately 4,700 vehicles delivered.
The electric car maker on Thursday announced a luxury version of the Fisker Ocean. The Ocean Extreme Monterey Edition is expected to be available for customers to order in the second half of 2024.
Tommy Kilgore and Claudia Assis contributed.
