What You Missed This Week in EVs and Clean Energy

Tesla CFO Zach Kirkhorn steps down, being succeeded by Vaibhav Taneja

Institutional investors and professional traders rely on The Fly to keep up-to-the-second on breaking news in the electric vehicle and clean energy space, as well as which stocks in these sectors that the best analysts on Wall Street are saying to buy and sell.

From the hotly-debated high-flier Tesla (TSLA), Wall Street’s newest darling Rivian (RIVN), traditional-stalwarts turned EV-upstarts GM (GM) and Ford (F) to the numerous SPAC-deal makers that have come public in this red-hot space, The Fly has you covered with “Charged,” a weekly recap of the top stories and expert calls in the sector.

TESLA CFO STEPS DOWN: 

Canaccord made no change to the firm’s rating on Tesla after the company announced that CFO Zach Kirkhorn stepped down and is being succeeded by Vaibhav Taneja. The firm believes the intensity of helping to build the sustainability giant alongside CEO Elon Musk may have led to Kirkhorn’s decision to move on from Tesla, Canaccord tells investors in a research note. Looking ahead, the firm believes Q2 likely marked a margin bottom for Telsa and is modeling a slight increase in “pure” auto gross margin on a quarter-over-quarter basis.

Commenting on the news that Tesla CFO Zach Kirkhorn has resigned, Bernstein notes that he has been CFO for 4 years and is just 39 years old, and thinks “this is tough to spin positively, though it is not nearly as worrisome as when former CFO abruptly retired in January 2019.” Tesla is “obviously a demanding place, and Elon is tough to work for,” the firm says. As Bernstein has noted before, executive turnover at Tesla has historically been very high. With that said, the firm argues that “this doesn’t sound like investors need to run for the hills, but clearly Kirkhorn made a personal decision that sticking around wasn’t worth it.” Bernstein continues to believe that the next year+ will be tough for Tesla, given its desire to grow with no material new product offerings likely before 2025.

Click here to check out Tesla’s recent Media Buzz Sentiment as measured by TipRanks.

SMALLER THAN EXPECTED EARNINGS LOSS: 

DA Davidson raised the firm’s price target on Rivian Automotive but kept a Neutral rating on the shares after its smaller than expected Q2 earnings loss. The tone of the company’s earnings call turned more positive, particularly on customer interest, sales mix with more SUVs, and supplier relationships, even though the firm is still “not 100% sold” with new EV SUV and pickup trucks entering the market monthly, the firm tells investors in a research note.

Several other Wall Street firms raised their targets on Rivian following quarterly results, including Canaccord. The firm said they continue to believe Rivian is on its way to capturing its fair share of the EV market over time through a sound, thorough, vertically integrated strategy that should lead to a desirable customer experience and strong profitability over time.

MARGIN CHALLENGES: 

Roth MKM downgraded Plug Power (PLUG) to Neutral, after the company reported positive Q2 revenue, but with gross margins and EBITDA that was “materially below” forecasts. Gross margin challenges in Q2 are “unlikely to resolve quickly and point to materially higher cash plant commissioning costs than previously considered,” says the firm, which notes it is lowering estimates “materially,” primarily on gross margins.

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Originally Posted August 14, 2023 – What You Missed This Week in EVs and Clean Energy