If You Invested $1,000 In Nikola Stock One Year Ago, Here's How Much You'd Have Now

Investors who have owned stocks in the last year have generally experienced some big gains. In fact, the SPDR S&P 500 SPY total return over the last 12 months is 34.2%. But there is no question some big-name stocks performed better than others along the way.

Nikola’s Rough Ride: One company that has been a horrible investment in the past year has been electric vehicle maker Nikola Corporation NKLA.

Nikola went public via a SPAC merger on June 4, 2020, but the company almost immediately ran into major problems. After rallying from under $15 to above $35 prior to the merger, Nikola shares soared as high as $93.99 in June within days of the completed merger.

Nikola shares began to cool off in the following weeks, but long-term investors still felt confident about their stakes when General Motors Company GM announced in September it would be taking an 11% ownership stake in Nikola as part of a new partnership deal. Unfortunately, within days of the GM news, short seller Hindenburg Research released a bombshell report on Nikola accusing the company and founder Trevor Milton of deceiving investors by using an “ocean of lies” about the viability and functionality of its electric truck prototypes.

Milton left the company shortly thereafter after admitting that the company recorded and used videos of trucks rolling downhill to give the appearance that the prototypes were working vehicles.

Related Link: Why Nikola Has 'Everest-Like' Uphill Challenges To Turn Investor Sentiment Around

In 2020, Nikola reported just $95,000 in revenue and a net loss of $370.8 million. Through the first half of 2021, Nikola is still not generating meaningful revenue as it continues to burn cash.

By the time Milton resigned from the company on Sept. 21, shares were trading back down at around $24. By the end of November, GM had completely re-worked its deal with Nikola and said it would no longer include an ownership stake in the company. At the time, Nikola shares were trading at around $20.

Nikola ultimately hit its low point of 2020 in December when the stock reached $13.51. Unfortunately, things went from bad to worse in 2021.

Nikola In 2021, Beyond: An economic rebound coupled with impressive sales growth from a handful of EV companies created a major tailwind for EV stock in the second half of 2020 and into 2021. Nikola missed out on the EV stock party.

Milton was officially indicted by a federal grand jury and charged with three counts of fraud in late July. Today, Nikola shares are trading at just $10.86, only modestly above its post-merger low of $9.37 back in April.

Investors who bought one year ago and held on have generated a major loss on their investment at this point. In fact, $1,000 in Nikola stock bought on August 9, 2020, would be worth about $298 today.

Looking ahead, analysts are hoping for a major rebound for Nikola's stock in the next 12 months. The average price target among the eight analysts covering the stock is $18, suggesting 65.6% upside from current levels.