What happened

Shares of several U.S.-based electric vehicle (EV) companies are moving higher today and investors can probably thank Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ: RIVN) for that. Shares of Rivian jumped as much as 11.2% in early trading today, and that helped the stocks of other EV names, including Lucid Group (NASDAQ: LCID) and Nikola (NASDAQ: NKLA), to also move higher by 6% and 6.8%, respectively. 

All three stocks cooled down somewhat after the early jumps. As of 12:20 p.m. ET, shares of Rivian, Lucid, and Nikola were holding gains of 8.6%, 1.6%, and 2.2%, respectively. And there was good reason as to why Rivian remained the strongest of the group. 

So what

After the entire EV sector has seen recent stock declines driven by manufacturing and cost headwinds, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe injected some new confidence with a filing yesterday showing he just bought more than $1 million worth of his company's stock. Investors often say that there can be many reasons to sell, but there's only one reason why an insider adds to holdings of their company's common stock -- they expect it will move higher. 

In a note that seems to support Scaringe's thoughts, widely followed Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas just maintained the equivalent of a buy rating on Rivian shares. Though the analyst lowered the stock's price target from $85 to $60 per share, that still represents an increase of more than 140% above Monday's closing price. 

Now what

Earlier this year, Rivian and Lucid both sharply reduced vehicle production targets for 2022. But both also just maintained those reduced projections when they reported first-quarter results. Rivian had said that even though it had the equipment and processes in place to produce 50,000 of its electric vehicles this year, it only expects to make 25,000 due to parts shortages from supply chain constraints. 

In the Morgan Stanley note, Jonas said he doesn't even expect Rivian to hit that target. He believes the company may only produce 15,500 vehicles this year. He has also reduced production estimates for 2023, 2025, and 2030. But based on his price target, he still believes there is plenty of upside for the shares with his more conservative view looking ahead. 

Beyond solving near-term supply chain issues, Rivian and Lucid expect to grow production in the next several years with new manufacturing plants being brought online. After the CEO showed he also seems to think that growth will lead to a rising stock price, investors took up several names in the sector today. 

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

The post Why Rivian is helping drive electric vehicle stocks higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

SPACs have been growing in popularity over the past year or two. They have also been singled out as a symptom of what some investors call an overheating market.

So what exactly is a SPAC, and are they coming to the ASX?

A SPACtacular idea?

A SPAC is a way that an unlisted company can join the share market. Think of a SPAC as an alternative to an initial public offering (IPO).

However, unlike an IPO, which involves the unilateral listing of a new company's shares, SPACs operate a little differently. They involve a shell company, that exists only for the purposes of the SPAC.

If all parties agree, this shell company merges with an unlisted private company in order to form a new company on the share market. Many speculative investors like to hunt for these shell companies before an official announcement is made.

That's because a SPAC has very little value before an announced merger. And potentially a lot once the merger is announced.

Some famous examples of companies that have listed using a SPAC include Nikola Corporation (NASDAQ: NKLA) and Draftkings Inc (NASDAQ: DKNG).

SPAC that, right on the ASX floor?

At least until now, SPACs have been an American phenomenon. But it might be about to be coming to a whole lot closer to home for Aussie investors. According to reporting in the Australian Financial Review (AFR) today, the ASX is facing a growing chorus of supporters clamouring for SPACs to be allowed on our own ASX.

Especially given that some companies that might have listed on the ASX could instead look to the US for a SPAC merger.

The AFR reports that Ian Taylor, head of equity capital markets at Goldman Sachs in Sydney, is one such voice. He told the AFR that they can be an efficient and useful way for companies to join a share market.

"There are real uncovered gems at very large sizes… the SPAC structure is evolving for the better and I do think that fears of a bubble are overdone," he told the AFR.

However, the ASX will certainly be wary of the frothiness the whole SPAC space has seen in recent times. The AFR report also states that SPACs raised US$78 billion from investors in 2020, but has already raised another US$72 billion in the 2½ months of 2021 so far.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was reportedly forced to issue an alert to retail investors last week. It warned them that celebrity like Jay-Z backing a SPAC is not a reason to invest. Not exactly a problem the ASX would want, you would think.

The ASX is reportedly considering the idea. The AFR tells us that the ASX has stated that, "we will listen to the market and take a cautious approach".

That doesn't sound like a ringing endorsement of the whole process, but this is certainly an interesting space to watch!

The post Are SPACs coming to the ASX 200? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Most traded international shares on the ASX

The five most traded international shares last week were these:

1. Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) — representing 15.8% of total trades with an 84%/16% buy-to-sell ratio.
2. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) — representing 5.4% of total trades with an 82%/18% buy-to-sell ratio.
3. Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) — representing 1.9% of total trades with a 79%/21% buy-to-sell ratio.
4. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) — representing 1.9% of total trades with a 75%/25% buy-to-sell ratio.
5. Nikola Corporation (NASDAQ: NKLA) — representing 1.3% of total trades with a 53%/47% buy-to-sell ratio.

The next five most traded shares were the following:

      6. Workhorse Group Inc (NASDAQ: WKHS)

      7. Alphabet Inc Class C (NASDAQ: GOOG)

      8. Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO)

      9. Zoom Video Communications Inc (NASDAQ: ZM)

    10. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA)

What can we learn from these trades?

Once again, we see the big US tech companies and electric auto companies dominating the list, with Elon Musk's electric car and battery manufacturer Tesla again claiming top spot by quite a large margin there, almost triple that of Apple in the number two spot. Over the period in question, Tesla shares were down nearly 10%, so clearly there were some ASX investors looking to scoop up a perceived bargain here (the Tesla share price is up 8% since 25 September, so it's paid off so far). Work-from-home market darling, Zoom, also made a rare appearance.

Nikola, Workhorse and Nio are all electric vehicle manufacturers as well, although these companies are clearly in the 'speculative' side of the market (in my view anyway). It's clear that many ASX investors think these companies are worth taking a shot on, even if most (excepting Chinese company, Nio) have yet to produce a market-ready vehicle. These shares are highly volatile. As an example, Workhorse stock was down 18% between 21-25 September, and up more than 22% between 25 September and today. How's that for a rollercoaster!

That's nothing compared to the embattled Nikola though. The Nikola share price lost 30% over the same period (and a further 8% since). That probably explains why Nikola is the only share with anything close to an even buy/sell split on this list.

Foolish takeaway

It was an interesting set of numbers last week for the ASX's most traded international shares, with some familiar and surprising names coming up. It will be fascinating to see what this week's numbers drag up.

The post ASX investors were buying Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares last week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Most traded international shares on the ASX

The five most traded international shares last week were the following:

1. Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) — representing 11.3% of total trades with an 83%/17% buy-to-sell ratio.
2. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) — representing 7.6% of total trades with an 89%/11% buy-to-sell ratio.
3. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) — representing 2.7% of total trades with an 81%/19% buy-to-sell ratio.
4. Amazon.com, Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) — representing 2.7% of total trades with an 86%/14% buy-to-sell ratio.
5. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) — representing 2% of total trades with an 83%/17% buy-to-sell ratio.

The next five most traded shares were these:

      6.  Snowflake Inc (NYSE: SNOW)

      7. Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO)

      8. Nikola Corporation (NASDAQ: NKLA)

      9. Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB)

      10. Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL)

What can we learn from these trades?

As with prior weeks, a collection of big tech names, together with a basket of what I would describe as 'speculative stocks' make up the lion's share of the most traded international shares for Aussie investors last week.

The FAANG stocks, Tesla and Microsoft maintain their positions at the forefront of ASX investors' attention (as usual), alongside the high-flying tech company NVIDIA, shares in which are up more than 100% in 2020 so far.

However, it's Tesla that continues to dominate the list, with trading volumes almost twice as high as the next company (Apple in this case). Aussie investors still can't seem to get enough of Elon Musk's pride and joy, even though the extraordinary rally in Tesla shares we saw earlier in the year appears to have come off the boil.

Meanwhile, Snowflake had a much talked about initial public offering (IPO) last week, which saw the shares more than double the IPO price of US$120. Thus, it's no real surprise to see it pop up on this list.

It's also interesting to see would-be Tesla rivals Nio and Nikola make the list as well. Notably, Nikola was the only stock that even got close to having an even buy/sell spread, with buys coming in at 52% and sells at 48%. This is understandable, as Nikola shares are down more than 26% over the past month on the back of the company's chair, Trevor Milton, leaving the business in a less-than-glorious fashion.

The post ASX investors were buying Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and Snowflake (NYSE:SNOW) shares last week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

What happened 

Shares of Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) rose on Tuesday, bolstered by a competitor's struggles and excitement surrounding its upcoming "Battery Day" presentation. Tesla stock closed up more than 7%.

So what 

Reports that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is investigating rival electric-vehicle maker Nikola (NASDAQ: NKLA) for allegations of fraud are likely helping to prop up Tesla's shares. In a scathing report on Thursday, short-seller Hindenburg Research accused Nikola of lying to investors about the true state of its battery technology and vastly overstating its progress toward the development of its electric truck.

After Nikola responded to some of Hindenburg's claims on Monday, Hindenburg then argued its response was a "tacit admission of securities fraud." Should the SEC agree with Hindenburg's view, or if its investigation uncovers other instances of wrongdoing, Nikola's ability to compete effectively in the electric vehicle market could be severely weakened.

Now what 

As its competitor wrestles with fraud allegations, Tesla is gearing up for its "Battery Day" on Sept. 22. Investors are looking forward to seeing what new technologies CEO Elon Musk unveils during his presentation. Excitement has been rising for Tesla's battery-related growth opportunity, as fears surrounding climate change are bolstering demand for electric vehicles and clean energy storage solutions around the world. 

Judging by the recent gains, many investors are choosing to buy Tesla's stock ahead of the event in anticipation of Musk's forthcoming announcements.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

The post Why Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock jolted higher on Tuesday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Top US shares

Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA)

Will nothing take Tesla's crown? This electric car and battery manufacturer has topped this list for the last several weeks (if not months). Elon Musk's controversial company never seems to be far out of the spotlight and made headlines again this week for some extreme volatility. Tesla shares were up 13% last night alone and are up more than 18% over the past week.

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL)

Apple is also a share that's been attracting a lot of attention recently, helped by the company's recently executed 4-for-1 stock split. Apple shares have also been rather volatile in recent months. Apple was up 3% last night and is up a staggering 52% year to date. No wonder ASX investors are interested in this company.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT)

Mr Softy was the 3rd most popular US share last week. Microsoft shares are down almost 10% in September so far, so perhaps ASX investors are seeing a buying opportunity here. Even so, Microsoft is also up a healthy 28% in 2020 so far, so it's not hard to see why ASX investors can't leave this tech pioneer alone.

Amazon.com, Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN)

Amazon is never far from the action and once again makes the top 5 this week. Investors still can't get enough of Jeff Bezos' baby, despite the astronomically high share price of US$3,102.97 that the shares are currently sitting at (representing a price to earnings (P/E) ratio of 119.27).

Nikola Corporation (NASDAQ: NKLA)

Nikola is a fellow electric car and battery manufacturer which competes with Tesla, both in name (after inventor Nikola Tesla) and in the next-generation vehicle space. I say 'compete' lightly because Nikola has yet to have a vehicle actually on the market but has just announced a new partnership with car titan General Motors Company (NYSE: GM).

Nikola has been on the nose recently after a short-seller attack sent the shares down more than 20% over the past week. Even so, it appears many ASX investors are seeing a bargain here, with CommSec showing 73%-13% ratio of buyers to sellers.

The post Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and Nikola (NASDAQ:NKLA) among most traded US shares last week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.