Hope springs eternal, but the situation might be hopeless for investors of commercial electric vehicle manufacturer Cenntro Electric (NASDAQ:CENN). It’s entirely possible that CENN stock won’t even be listed on the Nasdaq before too long.
Financial traders don’t need to invite problems into their lives, so it’s wise to steer clear of Cenntro Electric.
Plenty of folks are looking for the next huge winner in the EV space. Could it be Cenntro Electric in 2023? It doesn’t seem likely, as the automaker’s shareholders suffered staggering losses last year.
Bear in mind, Cenntro Electric used to sell lingerie under the name Naked Brand, and that experiment was a miserable failure.
Now, the rebranded company wants to convince prospective investors that it will succeed in a crowded EV market. Will you roll the dice and hope that this time will be different?
| CENN | Cenntro Electric | $0.41 |
CENN Stock Had a Dreadful Year
Traders who rolled the dice in 2022 ended up holding a very heavy bag. Last year, CENN stock tumbled from more than $5 to less than 50 cents. Even after a bizarre 50% single-session rally, Cenntro Electric shares remained firmly in penny-stock territory in December.
That mini-rally occurred because Cenntro announced that it was shipping vans to Europe. Yet, the company hasn’t been a huge winner in its home country. In a highly competitive U.S. EV market, Cenntro Electric only sold 337 commercial vehicles during the first half of 2022.
Yet, the company’s management apparently thinks they can replicate that “success” in Europe. Furthermore, Cenntro’s operating expenses ballooned from $5 million in 2021’s first half, to $24.7 million in the first half of 2022.
During that same time, the automaker’s net earnings loss widened from $4.5 million to $23.1 million. (Unfortunately, the company hasn’t filed/posted any more recent financial reports after 2022’s first half.)
Cenntro Electric Might Get Delisted
Sometimes, being a rule-breaker is a good thing. It’s not good for Cenntro Electric, though, as the company is in jeopardy of getting booted off of the Nasdaq exchange.
We know this because Cenntro Electric admitted it. In a press release, the company acknowledged receipt of a notification from the Nasdaq exchange, stating that Cenntro Electric violated Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a).
Cenntro broke that rule because “the closing bid price of the Company’s ordinary shares … was below $1.00 per Share for 30 consecutive business days preceding the date of the Notification.” Cenntro Electric has until June 20, 2023, to get its shares above $1 in order to avoid further actions from the Nasdaq exchange.
If CENN stock continues on its trajectory from 2022, it will be a hopeless situation. Cenntro Electric’s shares, if they continue to trade at all, could end up on an over-the-counter (OTC) exchange.
Surely, that’s not what Cenntro’s current or prospective investors would want to happen.
What You Can Do Now
Naked Brand faced a delisting threat from the Nasdaq exchange, and now we’re witnessing the same drama with Cenntro Electric. Honestly, investors don’t need these kinds of problems in their lives.
Besides, Cenntro Electric hasn’t sold many vehicles (as far as we know, since the company doesn’t seem to have provided any recent figures on this).
It’s a highly competitive EV market, both domestically and internationally, and Cenntro’s financials don’t bode well for the company. All in all, the best policy this year will be to avoid CENN stock completely.
On the date of publication, neither Louis Navellier nor the InvestorPlace Research Staff member primarily responsible for this article held (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.