Electric-vehicle sentiment among investors is collapsing amid disappointing earnings and slowing growth. EV shares have been hammered in recent weeks—so naturally, one EV stock is jumping higher on Wednesday.
That’s sarcasm. Shares of Vietnamese EV start-up
VinFast Auto
(ticker: VFS) were up 13% in midday trading, at $6.96, while the
S&P 500
and
Nasdaq Composite
were both down about 0.3%.
Shares of EV start-ups
Fisker
(FSR),
Rivian Automotive
(RIVN), and
Lucid
(LCID) were all lower. Rivian increased production guidance, and investors sold the stock anyway.
Lucid
cut production guidance, and investors sold the stock.
Fisker
was supposed to report third-quarter numbers but delayed the report because it changed chief accounting officers. Investors sold the stock.
To say it’s a bad day for EV makers would be fair. Shares of
Tesla
(TSLA), the EV leader, were off 1.2% in midday trading.
So why is VinFast stock soaring? There is no reason. Investors certainly can’t point to improving EV sentiment. VinFast didn’t report numbers or issue a news release. And no one on Wall Street launched coverage of the stock.
VinFast stock has picked up two analyst ratings since merging with a SPAC in August. Both are Buy. The average analyst price target is $9. One analyst has an $11 price target. The other has a $7 price target.
The best explanation is twofold. First, VinFast stock has become a trading vehicle, more for speculation than for investing in EVs. Volatility attracts traders, and VinFast’s volatility has been almost too much to believe. Shares have ranged from $4.59 to $93 over the past 2½ months. The stock has moved an average of about 15%, up or down, each day since the SPAC merger wrapped up.
Today is one of those up days.
The direction is also up because the stock has been hammered, like so many other EV stocks. VinFast shares dropped 57% in October while investors were fretting over weak earnings reports coming from
Tesla
and
Ford Motor
(F).
Tesla stock dropped about 20% in October. Shares are lower Wednesday, but through midday trading, Tesla stock is still up almost 10% for the month.
VinFast stock has bounced in November too. Through midday trading, shares were up some 28% month to date. When VinFast stock bounces it typically bounces much higher, and when it falls, it falls much further, than stock in EV peers.
Barron’s called VinFast stock too expensive in mid-August when shares were at about $37. That valued the stock at some $85 billion, more than the combined market caps of Ford and
General Motors
(GM) today.
Shares hit $93 a few days later but fell back down to earth quickly. At about $7 a share, VinFast stock is still valued at about $14 billion. That’s more than Rivian when adjusted for cash and debt.
VinFast is still a pricey EV start-up.
Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com
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