CCIV - CCIV Stock: The Lucid Motors News That Has Churchill Revving Up Today
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Investors are watching Churchill Capital Corp IV (NYSE:CCIV) shares this morning after its SPAC merger target, Lucid Motors, provided an update on production prep for its initial electric vehicle entry. CCIV stock is up 8.63% over the past three weeks.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, sponsor Churchill Capital said it had completed the “preproduction builds and has started the production of quality validation builds of the Lucid Air.” Why is this important? Basically, Lucid is working out the kinks in the system to pinpoint product problems before the model goes on sale and buyers take deliveries.
The Lucid Air sedan is expected to launch before the end of this year, with production increasing in 2023 and 2024. Its first SUV, the Lucid Gravity, should debut in the second half of 2023, according to the filing.
From the EV maker’s newly opened New York City studio, CEO and CTO Peter Rawlinson told CNBC’s Squawk Box that the firm was absolutely “bang on schedule” with plans to deliver 577 vehicles this year and have 10,000-plus reservations as 2022 begins.
“Over 10,000 and growing. It’s very heartening, and we’re responding to the uptake and increasing demand for Lucid by accelerating,” he said.
Valuation Concerns Weigh on CCIV Stock
Investors have some valuation concerns about CCIV stock, particularly that Lucid Motors’ revenue projections are overly optimistic and that management is underestimating industry competition. Asked how investors should be valuing the EV maker, that is, against traditional car makers like General Motors (NYSE:GM) or Ford (NYSE:F) or against Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), Rawlinson said “it’s the technology that justifies those valuations.”
“It’s no longer the commodity valuation of how many cars you build that determines the value of a company. It’s the technology and the future potential of that tech; and our tech has got the future potential, to truly mass industrialize electric cars,” he told CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin.
Examining current CCIV stock valuation concerns, InvestorPlace contributor Faisal Humayun yesterday came to the conclusion that the shares are unlikely to deliver strong returns in the foreseeable future. “At best, the stock is likely to remain sideways. If I had to buy an EV stock, TSLA stock looks attractive after a meaningful correction.”
On the date of publication, Robert Lakin did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
InvestorPlace contributor Robert Lakin is a veteran financial writer and editor, including previous stints with Bloomberg News and as a buyside equity research editor. His Substack newsletter, TLV Strategist, covers the Israel business scene.
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