Analyst's Strong Negative Opinion On Nauticus Robotics: It Lacks Ability To Fund Fleet Build-Out

Chardan Capital analyst Brian Dobson downgraded Nauticus Robotics Inc KITT to Neutral from Buy and decreased the price target to $2.5 from $11.
The analyst believes its prior estimates are unachievable as KITT lacks the capital to fund Aquanaut construction needed to build out its RaaS fleet rapidly.
He anticipates the number of Aquanauts in the service fleet to remain roughly flat in 2024, which will hamper the service revenues growth trajectory through 2025.
Nevertheless, Dobson believes KITT's cutting-edge products have the potential to win major DoD contracts and expects it to continue pursuing DoD trial programs and monetize its RaaS fleet in the coming time.
The analyst projects an uptick in government orders for the company post the next 12-18 months of DoD trials.
Dobson substantially reduced estimates for 2023 revenues to $13 million (from $67 million) versus the consensus of $20.8 million.
Also, for 2024, Dobson now expects revenues of $31 million (down from $177 million earlier) compared to street estimates of $134 million.
Price Action: KITT shares are trading lower by 5.19% at $2.19 on the last check Friday.