Nikola Looks To Raise $100M Via Stock Sale As It Eyes Completion Of Arizona Factory

Nikola Corporation NKLA is planning to raise capital by the way of a $100 million stock sale to investors, according to a filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

What Happened: The automaker said in the filing, first noticed on the Financial Times, it intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for “general corporate purposes” and for funding the completion of its manufacturing facility in Arizona.

Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives said that multiple electric vehicle players were trying to raise capital in what is an estimated $5 trillion EV market over the next decade, FT noted.

“Right now, it’s an arms race, and Nikola is trying to execute on their vision,” Ives said. Nikola is trying to rebuild its credibility “brick by brick,” as per the analyst.

Why It Matters: In September last year, short-seller Hindenburg labeled Nikola “an intricate fraud built on dozens of lies” in a report that ultimately led to the exit of Executive Chairman Trevor Milton. 

The company’s market capitalization has fallen from $37 billion in June to $6.69 billion, as of Monday. 

In February, Ives changed his rating on Nikola to Neutral from Underperform and raised the price target to $25 from the earlier $15 saying most “negative catalysts” have played out. 

The Phoneix, Arizona-based company expects to provide prototype fuel cell Tre model trucks to Anheuser-Busch Inbev SA BUD for testing in 2022. 

For its battery electric vehicles, deliveries are expected to begin in 2022, as per FT.

Others that have raised cash include, Nio Inc NIO which raised $1.3 billion in convertible notes in January to fuel its ambitious EV plans. Segment leader Tesla Inc TSLA priced its $2 billion equity offering at $767 per share in February.

Price Action: Nikola shares fell 3.75% in after-hours trading to $16.42 on Monday after closing 0.24% higher at $17.06 in the regular session.

Photo courtesy: Nikola Motor Corp.

Click here to check out Benzinga’s EV Hub for the latest electric vehicles news.