Workhorse (WKHS) reported first-quarter results that showed revenue had increased, but rising research and development expenses led to big losses.
Other losses were mainly connected to the decrease in the fair value of Workhouse’s investment in Lordstown. Workhorse, which produces drone-integrated electric vehicles, has a stake in fellow electric vehicle company, Lordstown Motors (RIDE).
Revenue came in at $0.5 million, rising from $0.08 million in the same period last year. However, revenue fell short of the $2.3 million that Wall Street had expected.
Workhorse made a net loss of $120.5 million, contrasting with a net income of $4.8 million a year ago. The company continued to spend more, and product development expenses rose sharply in Q1.
Additionally, Workhorse took a $136.6 million hit in Q1 in relation to its investment in Lordstown stock, which dropped sharply in recent months.
Amid the global chip shortage that has impacted auto assembly line operations across the board, Workhorse lowered its 2021 vehicle production target to 1,000 units from 1,800 units.
“Bottlenecks within the global supply chain and offshore shipping delays of commodity raw materials and components as well as our initial stages of production limited our capacity to produce during the first quarter,” commented CEO Duane Hughes.
Alongside the results, Workhorse announced a partnership with a unit of J.D. Poindexter to make electric commercial vehicles. Additionally, the company has tapped Coulomb Solutions to supply it with battery systems for its electric vans. (See Workhorse stock analysis on TipRanks)
On the back of Q1 results, Colliers Securities analyst Michael Shlisky reiterated a Hold rating on the stock without assigning it a price target.
“Overall, while the production performance and outlook were disappointing, bright spots like the Poindexter deal could provide an offset,” noted Shlisky.
Consensus among analysts on Wall Street is a Moderate Buy, based on 4 Buy and 3 Hold ratings. The average analyst price target of $15.70 implies 91.46% upside potential to current price.
WKHS scores a 7 out of 10 on TipRanks’ Smart Score rating system, indicating the stock’s return is likely to align with market performance.
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