By Michael Elkins
Shares of Lucid Group (NASDAQ:LCID) jumped as much as 98% intraday on Friday before settling up 43% following a Bloomberg report that highlighted speculation by Betaville that Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (SAPIF) was in talks to take electric vehicle company private.
Bank of America Securities reiterated a Buy rating and $18.00 price target on the stock as they have previously discussed LCID's significant need for additional funding. BofA analysts estimate that the company will need ~$10bn over the next five years.
They view LCID as one of the most attractive among the universe of start-up EV automakers and a relative competitive threat. They wrote in a note, "We believe LCID currently has more pieces of the puzzle in place and in process than most of its peers which, steered by a management team with impressive experience, should push the company more successfully from concept to commercialization."
The idea that someone would buy a stake through a funding round or takeout is not unexpected. However, SAPIF already owns around 64% of LCID's stock, according to Bloomberg, and has the ability to provide additional funding.
Shares of LCID are up 4.20% in pre-market trading on Monday.