- Mullen held its shareholder meeting on August 3 but it is unclear whether the company received enough votes for another reverse stock split.
- July US Nonfarm Payrolls surprised to the downside – weighing on the US Dollar but supporting stocks.
- S&P 500 and NASDAQ 100 both gain in early Friday trade
Mullen Automotive (MULN) stock slumped nearly 10% on Friday despite the broader averages advancing at a healthy clip. The poor showing comes a day after MULN stock added 12%, closing at $0.1365.
The US Nonfarm Payrolls data came in below expectations. This was largely seen as positive by the equity market as it makes a September interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve (Fed) somewhat less likely, and higher interest rates hurt businesses by increasing borrowing costs.
Mullen stock news: Nonfarm Payrolls reduce chance of September rate hike
US Nonfarm Payrolls for July came in at 187K, below the 200K expected by analysts. Additionally, the previous month’s 209K was revised down to 185K.
Usually, a lower reading would be worrying to the stock market, but this time the market is taking it as a reason to rejoice. While Fed Chair, Jerome Powell, remained open to another rate hike later this year he has hinted that further disinflationary data would make such a move less necessary.
This month’s NFP unveiling certainly did that. The so-far tight labor market had concerned Fed officials in that it could imply the making of a wage-price spiral. Although the headline NFP figure missed estimates, the US Unemployment Rate for July did tick lower from 3.6% to 3.5%, and wage gains also did not help the picture so much. This might be why the market is somewhat tentative about the results.
In point of fact, the Average Hourly Earnings reported as part of the NFP remained flat with June at 0.4% MoM and 4.4% YoY. Analysts had expected these figures to fall slightly in July’s reading.
Mullen stock news: Shareholder meeting rumors
Mullen has not yet reported or filed any documents with the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding the details of its August 3 shareholder meeting. Rumors have been circulating online, however, that Proposal 3 passed. This would allow Mullen to effect a reverse stock split at any ratio between 1-for-2 and 1-for-100. The company needs to place its share price above $1 for 10 consecutive trading sessions by September 5 in order to satisfy the NASDAQ Exchange’s bylaws.
User @FinJourney on X (aka Twitter) suggests that the reverse split proposal has passed a shareholder vote
There was a problem with the audio recording of the meeting though, and some other users are uncertain as to what the outcome was.
Another X user joked that the poor audio was done on purpose by CEO David Michery
Mullen Automotive FAQs
Mullen Automotive is a publicly-traded development-stage electric vehicle company based in Brea, California that typically uses outside partnerships to manufacture its vehicles. The company was founded in 2014 and currently sells self-designed electric delivery vehicles. Besides its commercial offerings, Mullen plans to begin manufacturing its Mullen FIVE EV crossover in late 2024 or early 2025. Mullen Automotive went public on the NASDAQ exchange through a reverse merger in late 2021.
David Michery has been the company’s CEO since he founded and incorporated the company in 2014. The existing company came from the merging of CODA Automotive and Mullen Motor Cars through acquisition. Michery is joined by Chief Financial Officer Jonathan New, Chief Commercial Officer John Schwegman and President of the Automotive Division Calin Popa.
Through a partnership with Randy Marion Automotive Group, Mullen distributes its Mullen One delivery van that has an electric range of 110 miles. Through an agreement with a Chinese manufacturer and distributor based in Ireland, the company also distributes the Mullen-GO Commercial Urban Delivery EV in Europe. In July 2023, Mullen will begin commercial production at its facility in Mississippi of its Class 3 EV Cab Chassis long-haul truck for immediate delivery. Through its 60% ownership stake in Bollinger Motors, Mullen will also reap the benefits of that company’s B1 SUV and B2 pickup truck, as well as other commercial vehicles in the future. The Mullen FIVE crossover vehicle is not slated for production until at least late 2024, but it is already taking reservations.
Mullen has been diluting its stock since going public in late 2021. This is because the company as of yet currently has little revenue from operations and no profits. The stock has fallen over 99% since the company’s reverse merger in November 2021, and the rapid dilution is mostly to blame. Taking into account Mullen’s 1-for-25 reverse stock split on May 4, 2023, Mullen had 33,338,727 shares outstanding on September 30, 2022, but 126,281,274 shares on March 31, 2023. The company is allowed to sell up to 200 million shares under current authorization.
Mullen stock forecast
Mullen stock jumped to $0.1730 during the shareholder meeting but gave back most of that rally by the end of the Thursday trade. The stock was left with a long top wick, which is usually viewed as bearish.
Then again, penny stocks just trade differently. At least MULN stock momentarily broke above the 21-day Simple Moving Average (SMA). It needs to close above that SMA in order to return to an uptrend.
Thus far on Friday, there doesn’t appear to be a similar level of volume as Thursday. Support remains at $0.10.
MULN daily chart