With U.S. electric vehicle demand waning, investors must be choosy with their stock picks. EV manufacturer Lucid Group (NASDAQ:LCID) has its positive points, such as powerful vehicles with impressive ranges. Unfortunately, these positive points aren’t enough to make LCID stock a worthy pick for 2024.
As we’ll see, Lucid Group is getting ready to introduce a new vehicle with some notable features. This might put the Lucid stock bulls in an optimistic mood, but they need to be careful. The big picture still doesn’t look favorable for Lucid and its long-term investors.
Exciting Announcements from Lucid Group
First of all, Lucid Group is preparing to launch its new electric SUV model, called the Lucid Gravity. The press release claims that the Gravity will redefine and “heralds the dawn of a new era for” electric SUVs.
Those are big claims to make, but the Gravity will have some noteworthy features. Some of these features include a range exceeding 440 miles, a proprietary electric power train and a sleek, low-drag exterior design.
That’s all fine and well, but Lucid Group won’t begin production on the Gravity SUV model until late 2024. So, don’t expect Lucid to generate revenue on these new vehicles for a year or longer.
Second, Lucid Group announced RangeXchange, a few feature that will enable a Lucid Air vehicle to charge another EV, thereby “adding between 24 to 40 miles of range per hour.” This is an interesting idea, but will it convince car shoppers to buy the Lucid Air?
This remains to be seen. So, Lucid stock investors should watch for updates to see if the RangeXchange feature has a material impact on Lucid Group’s top and bottom lines.
LCID Stock Is Down, but Is It a Bargain?
Evidently, these interesting announcements from Lucid Group haven’t been enough to get the market excited about the company. As evidence of this, note that LCID stock has fallen below $5 and stayed there.
Does this mean that the stock is a bargain? Not necessarily, as a stock isn’t always a bargain just because it’s trading at a depressed price point. Sorry to say, Lucid Group has problems that overeager investors need to consider.
Even with a new SUV in the works, Lucid Group can’t hide its disappointing third-quarter 2023 results. The company continued its pattern of reporting one unprofitable quarter after another, and posted an earnings loss of 28 cents per share in Q3 2023.
Furthermore, Lucid Group only generated revenue of $137.8 million, falling short of the analysts’ consensus estimate of $177 million. Perhaps worst of all, Lucid lowered its full-year 2023 EV production outlook to a range of 8,000 to 8,500 vehicles. Remember, Lucid Group’s prior outlook called for production of “more than 10,000” EVs for the year.
Lucid Stock: Just Walk Away
To reiterate, EV demand is waning and not every manufacturer can thrive in this challenging environment. There are plenty of EV makers to choose from nowadays, and Lucid stock is simply too risky to invest in right now.
It’s fine to keep tabs on Lucid Group as the company tries out new ideas and designs potentially game-changing vehicles. Until Lucid’s financials and EV production outlook improve, however, prudent investors should just walk away from LCID stock.
On the date of publication, David Moadel 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.