Key Takeaways
- Lucid shares moved lower in premarket trading Tuesday after the EV maker disclosed a wider-than-expected quarterly loss, reiterated its soft 2024 production guidance and projected an annual increase in capital expenditures.
- Lucid’s reiterated production guidance of 9,000 vehicles sits well below the 12,677 target projected by analysts.
- Monitor the $2.65 level, an area where the price may find buying interest near the 50-day moving average and a horizonal line connecting two recent troughs in January and March.
Lucid (LCID) shares tumbled more than 8% in premarket trading Tuesday after the luxury electric vehicle maker disclosed a wider-than-expected quarterly loss, reiterated its soft 2024 production guidance and projected an annual increase in capital expenditures.
In the first three months of the year, the Newark, California-based auto manufacturer posted an adjusted per share loss of 30 cents, wider than the 25-cents-a-share loss Wall Street had expected. Revenue in the period totaled $173 million, jumping 16% from the prior year’s corresponding quarter and topping the consensus view, though nearly $51 million came from the Saudi government, which has a majority stake in the company.
“Lucid demand is debatable,” Future Fund Active ETF co-founder Gary Black told Barron’s following the company’s earnings release. “Excluding Saudi sales, first quarter revenues were down 19% year over year (YOY),” he added.
On the delivery front, the company handed over key fobs for 1,967 vehicles in the period, up from 1,406 units deliveries in the first quarter of 2023, largely due to the carmaker slashing the price of its popular Air luxury sedans earlier this year by up to 10% to drive sales among more cost-conscious consumers amid persistently high interest rates.
Looking ahead, Lucid reiterated its 2024 production guidance of 9,000 EVs, up from 8,428 vehicles in the year before, but remaining below the 12,677 target projected by analysts. The company also said it sees capital expenditures increasing to $1.5 billion this year, up from $910.6 million in 2023, as it prepares to start manufacturing its highly anticipated Gravity SUV in the second half.
Key Chart Level To Watch Amid Post-Earnings Selling
Lucid shares remain in a long-term downtrend but staged an impressive countertrend rally leading into the EV maker’s quarterly results.
If sellers continue to drive down the price post earnings, investors should keep a close eye on the $2.65 level, an area on the chart that may find buying interest near the 50-day moving average and a horizonal line connecting two recent troughs in January and March. A breakdown below this key level could see the stock revisit its record low around $2.30.
Lucid shares were down 8.5% at $2.79 at around 7:00 a.m. ET.
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