Nikola shares plummeted as much as 21% to $38.49 in pre-market trades on Monday. Nikola is down as much as 58% from its June peak of $93.99.
Nikola saw investor demand for its shares skyrocket after the company went public via a reverse-merger with a “blank check” company, VectorIQ. Investors seem to be searching for the next Tesla, which has more than tripled in value year-to-date and become the largest automaker in the world as measured by market capitalization.
Investors’ demand for the shares of Nikola has increased as investors are searching for new Tesla. Year to Date the share price of Tesla has more than tripled in value making it the largest automaker in the world terms of market capitalization according to Business Insider.
Nikola is one of the first pure-play electric vehicle competitors to Tesla. The zero-emissions vehicle manufacturer based in Pheonix, was founded in 2016 by Trevor Milton. The company is focused on building electric and fuel cell powered trucks, including a pick-up truck and 18-wheeler.
Nikola, the electric vehicle maker filed a prospectus on Friday following the market close detailing its intention to sell up to 23.9 million shares.
The 23.9 million shares to be sold will be derived from the exercise of a mix of public and private warrants.
Additionally, existing stakeholders can sell up to 53.4 million shares, according to the filing. Nikola will not receive proceeds from the sale of stock by existing shareholders. Shareholders that filed to sell stock include BlackRock, Fidelity, and ValueAct, the prospectus said.
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Nikola will use the proceeds from the share sale for general corporate purposes as the company does not expect to generate any revenue until 2021.
The increased dilution will bring Nikola’s outstanding share count to 384.8 million shares, from its current share count of 360.9 million, according to the filing. Nikola CEO Trevor Milton owns 25.4% of Nikola.
Written by;
Ifunanya Ikueze