It has been something of a rollercoaster ride for Mullen Automotive (MULN) this year – with notably more dips than rises. But could that be about to change?

Asset manager Blackrock has recently increased its stake in Mullen – indicating that the company that has so far been all about potential, might be about to produce the numbers to match.

To recap on what has happened in a busy year for Mullen, back in November 2021 the stock price was around the $12.19 level. By late February 2022, it had fallen to $0.61. It then recovered to $3.31 in late March, only to slide down steadily from there.

Over the last month the stock has shown signs of kicking back into life – up just over 9% but at $0.27 still a country mile from its year high.  

There have been some good noises coming from Mullen of late.

Sales to the military

Earlier this month, Tradexone.com reported on founder and Chairman of Mullen Automotive David Michery insisting his Mullen B1 and B2 EV models were ideally suited to war terrain and therefore would have great appeal to “global military” customers.

Michery said the aim was to get the US government to see the potential of the B1 vehicle and then look at what Mullen can do to make it “military friendly”.

Analysts have begun to warm to Mullen on the grounds that vehicle production numbers may soon start to come through – a criticism that has until now been levelled at Mullen consistently.

There is a suggestion that Mullen’s recent acquisition of ELMS, including its plant in Mishawaka, Indiana could provide the necessary shot in the arm for production.

Michery claims the former ELMS plant will provide the capability to produce up to 50,000 vehicles per year. Significantly, the deal will also accelerate the launch of the Bollinger B1 SUV and Bollinger B2 pickup by more than a year – according to the company.

In September, Mullen acquired a 60% controlling interest in Bollinger Motors for $148.2m in cash and stock.

Another positive factor for Mullen was its deal earlier this month with Ireland’s Newgate Motor Group for the i-Go. The i-Go is an EU-specific final-mile delivery vehicle that Mullen Automotive acquired the rights to in October.

The deal gives Newgate Motor Group rights to market, sell, distribute and service the Mullen i-Go in Ireland.

Marketbeat points out that while the risk for investors is that the production of vehicles is still about a year away – once production begins this stock could easily move up into the high-single-digit-dollar range.

Whether positive broker sentiment towards Mullen has encouraged Blackrock to increase its position in Mullen is open to debate but the EV sector in general is beginning to attract interest and the concept that the risk might be worth the reward might be gaining traction.

Yesterday, Tradexone.com reported that Polestar Automotive Holding (PSNY) had seen its stock price surge following rave reviews of its new Polestar 2 BST model.

The Nasdaq-listed stock has risen 31.15% over the past week – and is currently valued at around the $5.83 level.

The Swedish electric vehicle maker that was spun off from a joint venture between Volvo (VOLVa) and Geely (GEELY), went public this June by merging with a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC).

According to Marketbeat, the consensus rating from brokers for the stock is a ‘hold’ with a target price of $10.