Stock Markets

Electric-vehicle startups see weekly gains after blistering rally

Published

2 years ago

June 17, 2023

U.S. electric-vehicle startups saw massive weekly gains on Friday after a searing rally in their shares over the past few sessions nearly doubled the value of companies such as Nikola.

The surge in EV stocks has come without any apparent news or catalyst for the companies, leading several analysts and traders to point to a potential squeeze in the highly shorted stocks.

For instance Lordstown Motors has a short interest of 16.5%, according to S3 Partners. Other big gainers such as Nikola and Workhorse Group have short interests of 21.7% and 23.9%, respectively.

Used-car retailer Carvana, another highly shorted stock, has also posted strong gains that have pushed up its value by nearly $1.38 billion this week.

“We see this every time the market gets hot,” Dennis Dick, a trader at Triple D trading, said.
“Carvana probably kick-started this, it is up more than 100% in a couple of weeks on a short squeeze. Smaller names with high short interest are following suit now.”

The gains have added more than $400 million to the collective market value of the EV startups and coincided with a record winning streak at market leader Tesla, whose stock movement often influences other companies in the sector.

RETAIL INTEREST

Retail investors have also ploughed into EV shares, with the J.P. Morgan retail flows tracker showing Nikola was the fifth most traded U.S. stock by such traders on Thursday.

Nikola and Lordstown have drawn a flurry of bullish options activity in recent days as traders place bets on further gains.

On Thursday, more than half a million options contracts on Nikola changed hands, making the relatively small company the eighth most active single stock name in the options market, according to Trade Alert data.

The stock surge could help Nikola overcome the risk of being delisted after it received a warning late in May from Nasdaq that its share price had been below the $1 minimum level.

Nikola fell 15% on Friday and closed at $1.19. Despite the drop, the stock is on course to stay above the minimum level for the third straight session.

The stock will regain compliance with Nasdaq’s norms if it trades above $1 for 10 consecutive days.

Workhorse rose nearly 1% and Lordstown fell about half a percent, while Carvana was down about 4% at the end of a week in which it has gained more than 30%.

Nikola’s stock has a 12-month forward price-to-sales ratio of 3.21, compared with Workhorse’s 1.38 and Tesla’s 7.23, according to Refinitiv data.

Still, many challenges remain for the EV startups.

Rising interest rates and high inflation have limited their access to funding at a time when efforts to ramp up production are already thinning the companies’ cash reserves.

Stock Markets

Isabella Bank CEO Jerome Schwind buys shares for $400

Published

15 hours ago

January 7, 2025

Jerome E. Schwind, President and CEO of Isabella Bank Corp (OTC:ISBA), recently purchased shares in the company. According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Schwind acquired 16.2009 shares of common stock on January 2, 2025, at a price of $24.69 per share, amounting to a total transaction value of approximately $400. The purchase comes as the stock trades near its 52-week high of $26.23, with the company maintaining a solid 4.31% dividend yield and a modest P/E ratio of 13.6. InvestingPro analysis suggests the stock is slightly undervalued at current levels. This purchase increased Schwind’s direct ownership to 28,481.732 shares, which includes shares acquired through quarterly dividend reinvestment. The company has maintained dividend payments for 17 consecutive years, demonstrating strong shareholder commitment. InvestingPro subscribers can access 6 additional key insights about Isabella Bank Corp’s financial health and growth prospects.

In other recent news, Isabella Bank Corp has been in the spotlight due to a range of developments. Piper Sandler has raised the price target for the bank’s shares to $24.00 from $22.00, maintaining a Neutral rating. This decision came after a review of the bank’s third-quarter performance, which showed a 3% pre-provision net revenue (PPNR) upside, driven by net interest margin (NIM) expansion. The bank also experienced strong organic balance sheet growth.

Furthermore, Isabella Bank disclosed a potential loss of approximately $1.6 million due to negative balances in deposit accounts associated with a single customer. The total exposure to this customer, which includes loans and lines of credit secured by various assets, amounts to $4.0 million. The bank is currently assessing the potential credit losses.

In terms of earnings projections, Piper Sandler raised its earnings per share (EPS) estimates for the fourth quarter of 2024 and the full year 2025 to $0.49 and $2.40, respectively. The firm also established an EPS estimate of $2.70 for the year 2026. Lastly, Isabella Bank declared a third-quarter cash dividend of $0.28 per common share, reflecting its commitment to enhancing shareholder value.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

Stock Markets

Isabella bank’s CFO William Schaefer buys shares worth $3,999

Published

15 hours ago

January 7, 2025

William M. Schaefer, the Chief Financial Officer of Isabella Bank Corp (OTC:ISBA), recently acquired additional shares of the company. According to a recent SEC filing, Schaefer purchased 162 shares of Isabella Bank common stock on January 2, 2025, at a price of $24.69 per share. The stock, currently trading near its 52-week high of $26.23, has shown impressive momentum with a 40% gain over the past six months. InvestingPro analysis suggests the stock is currently undervalued. This transaction amounted to a total value of $3,999. Following this acquisition, Schaefer’s direct ownership in the bank increased to 6,005 shares. It is noted that this includes shares acquired through quarterly dividend reinvestment. The bank maintains a notable 4.31% dividend yield and has consistently paid dividends for 17 consecutive years, according to InvestingPro data.

In other recent news, Isabella Bank Corp has been the subject of several significant developments. Piper Sandler has raised the price target for Isabella Bank shares to $24, maintaining a Neutral rating. This adjustment comes after an analysis of the bank’s third-quarter performance, which showed a 3% pre-provision net revenue (PPNR) upside driven by net interest margin (NIM) expansion. The firm also revised its earnings per share (EPS) estimates for the fourth quarter of 2024 and the full year 2025 to $0.49 and $2.40, respectively, based on higher net interest income (NII) assumptions.

On another note, Isabella Bank faces a potential loss of approximately $1.6 million due to negative balances in deposit accounts associated with a single customer, with the total exposure to this customer amounting to $4.0 million. The bank is currently assessing the potential credit losses. Despite this, Piper Sandler maintained a Neutral rating on the bank’s shares.

Additionally, the bank declared a third-quarter cash dividend of $0.28 per common share, reflecting its commitment to enhancing shareholder value. Piper Sandler highlighted the bank’s attractive 5.6% dividend yield, surpassing the peer average of 3.2%. These recent developments provide insights into the bank’s financial performance and future expectations as per analysts’ projections.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

Stock Markets

CME Group Inc. Announces Fourth-Quarter and Year-End 2024 Earnings Release, Conference Call

Published

15 hours ago

January 7, 2025

CHICAGO, Jan. 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:) will announce earnings for the fourth quarter and full year of 2024 before the markets open on Wednesday, February 12, 2025. Written highlights for the quarter will be posted on the company’s website at 6:00 a.m. Central Time, the same time it provides its earnings press release. The company will also hold an investor conference call that day at 7:30 a.m. Central Time, at which time company executives will take analysts’ questions.

A live audio Webcast of the conference call will be available on the Investor Relations section of the company’s website. Following the conference call, an archived recording will be available at the same site. Those wishing to listen to the live conference via telephone should dial 877-918-3040 if calling from within the United States, or +1 312-470-7282 if calling from outside the United States, at least 10 minutes before the call begins. The participant passcode for both telephone numbers is 1944793.

As the world’s leading derivatives marketplace, CME Group (www.cmegroup.com) enables clients to trade futures, options, cash and OTC markets, optimize portfolios, and analyze data “ empowering market participants worldwide to efficiently manage risk and capture opportunities. CME Group exchanges offer the widest range of global benchmark products across all major asset classes based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural products and metals. The company offers futures and options on futures trading through the CME Globex platform, fixed income trading via BrokerTec and foreign exchange trading on the EBS platform. In addition, it operates one of the world’s leading central counterparty clearing providers, CME Clearing.

CME Group, the Globe logo, CME, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Globex, and E-mini are trademarks of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. CBOT and Chicago Board of Trade are trademarks of Board of Trade of the City of Chicago, Inc. NYMEX, New York Mercantile Exchange and ClearPort are trademarks of New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc. COMEX is a trademark of Commodity Exchange, Inc. BrokerTec is a trademark of BrokerTec Americas LLC and EBS is a trademark of EBS Group LTD. The is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC (“S&P DJI”). “S&P ®”, “S&P 500 ®”, “SPY ®”, “SPX ®”, US 500 and The 500 are trademarks of Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC; Dow Jones ®, DJIA ® and are service and/or trademarks of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. These trademarks have been licensed for use by Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. Futures contracts based on the S&P 500 Index are not sponsored, endorsed, marketed, or promoted by S&P DJI, and S&P DJI makes no representation regarding the advisability of investing in such products. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.