Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
Despite shares of electric vehicle maker Lucid Motors hitting new record lows last November at below $2, all of its top 12 institutional shareholders increased their stakes in the company during the final quarter of 2024.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), Lucid’s largest shareholder, held 1.77 billion shares as of December 31. Other major institutional investors, including asset managers BlackRock and Vanguard and investment banks such as Morgan Stanley and UBS Group, also raised their holdings.
According to data from Fintel, and now that all the 13F filings from the final quarter of 2024 have been reported, Lucid currently has 676 institutional shareholders collectively holding more than 2.25 billion shares, marking a record high for the Saudi-backed EV maker.
Saudi-Backed EV Maker
PIF owns a 58.4% controlling stake in Lucid. In October, the company raised over $1.7 billion through a combination of a public offering and a private placement, issuing approximately 637 million shares.
The offering included a public sale of more than 262 million shares, while PIF-affiliate Ayar Third Investment committed to purchasing nearly 375 million shares privately.
CEO Departure
On February 25, Lucid announced that Peter Rawlinson had stepped down as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Technology Officer effective immediately.
PIF’s influence in Lucid’s strategy has grown as its position has increased.
The company appointed Chief Operations Officer Marc Winterhoff as interim CEO while its board, led by PIF-linked Turqi Alnowaiser, searches for a permanent replacement.
As reported by EV last week, internal sources suggested that Alnowaiser “forced” Rawlinson’s departure.
U.S. Sales Record
Lucid Motors set a new U.S. sales record in February, delivering an estimated 805 vehicles, according to Motor Intelligence data released last week. The total includes 750 Air sedans and 55 Gravity SUVs.
Sales rose 33.5% compared to February 2023 and 21% from January 2024.
D.E. Shaw
Hedge fund D.E. Shaw significantly increased its position in Lucid late last year, adding 14.83 million shares in the fourth quarter to close 2024 with more than 24.4 million shares. The stake was valued at nearly $74 million as of year-end.
D.E. Shaw more than doubled its position in Lucid during the quarter, making it the company’s fourth-largest institutional shareholder.
Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley disclosed in its latest quarterly filing that it added 7.25 million shares of Lucid in the fourth quarter, bringing its total holdings to a record high of over 22.8 million shares.
As of December 31, the investment bank’s position in Lucid was valued at more than $69 million following a 46.4% increase in shares held between October and December.
BlackRock
BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, added 5.4 million shares of Lucid in the fourth quarter of 2024, increasing its stake by 12.7%.
BlackRock ended the year holding more than 48.5 million Lucid shares, valued at nearly $147 million, according to its latest 13F filing.
Lucid went public through a merger with Churchill Capital Corp IV, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). As of the time of writing, Lucid shares are trading 2.4% lower at $2.03.
Lucid shares, valued at nearly $147 million, according to its latest 13F filing.
