*** ONE-TIME USE *** Electric cars are pictured on display at a VinFast showroom in Hanoi on September 29, 2023.
Nhac Nguyen/AFP via Getty ImagesFor investors, trading in shares of the Vietnamese electric-vehicle maker VinFast Auto must be exhausting. The stock fell a lot on Wednesday, with no clear reason for the move.
VinFast (ticker: VFS) shares were down 12% at $8.15 a share in afternoon trading, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were up 0.3% and 0.8%, respectively.
The fact that the stock is swinging without fundamental news isn’t unusual. VinFast stock hit $93 a share on Aug. 28 days after the company completed its merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, up from about $10 when the merger closed. That rise made no sense either.
Trading has been wild since the stock symbol changed to “VFS” as a result of the SPAC merger on Aug. 15. Shares have moved up or down more than 10% in 20 of the 36 trading days since then. The average gain or loss has been about 22%.
Volatility like that draws more traders, bringing more big moves in the price. That might be the best explanation for the gains and the losses.
There are still no analysts that cover the company, according to FactSet. The company provided full-year delivery guidance on Sept. 21. The company expects to deliver between 40,000 and 50,000 EVs in 2023, not including e-scooter sales. That leaves roughly 30,000 to 40,000 EVs to sell in the second half of the year.
That wasn’t a new development as of Wednesday, but investors may believe that forecast is a stretch. VinFast stock is down about $9 a share, or 52%, since then.
At $8.15 a share, VinFast stock is worth about $19 billion, leaving its market capitalization lower than that of Rivian Automotive (RIVN). Rivian Automotive has a market capitalization of about $21 billion. Its shares were up 6% Wednesday, sending its market cap past VinFast’s.
Write to Al Root at [email protected]
