JPMorgan predicts hot electric vehicle stock Nikola will lose nearly a third of its value

Published Mon, Jun 22 20207:55 AM EDTUpdated Mon, Jun 22 20204:01 PM EDT

(This story is for CNBC PRO subscribers only.) Shares of battery-electric and hydrogen-powered truck maker Nikola haven't even been trading for a full month , but the stock already looks fully valued, JPMorgan said Monday in initiating coverage of the company with a neutral rating. The bank is the first of the biggest Wall Street firms to rate the red-hot stock, which has seen shares nearly double since going public through a reverse merger on June 4. JPMorgan analyst Paul Coster said that while Nikola has a "bold plan" and operates in a "big market," there are risks surrounding the stock. "Risks are elevated for this pre-revenue company, and the stock looks fully valued here, so we look for a pull-back or incremental positive developments to get more constructive," Coster wrote in a note to clients. He also established a December 2021 price target of $45 on the stock, about a third of below its current price. Nikola, which was founded in 2015, is developing battery-electric and hydrogen-powered trucks. The company has attracted a lot of attention from investors — including retail investors — despite the fact that the company doesn't expect to generate revenue until 2021. At one point during the trading frenzy that followed the company's debut, Nikola's market cap surpassed $30 billion, making it more valuable than Ford. The stock now trades around $66, after touching an all-time high of $93.99 on June 9. "We believe the stock currently prices in successful execution of the multi-year growth strategy," Coster said. "NKLA stock trades on very high multiples of distant-future revenue and EBITDA, which assume successful execution of a multi-year strategy that takes the company from pre-revenue (today) to revenue of $10 billion later this decade, from loss making to EBITDA margins of over 12%." After opening the day in the red, shares of Nikola ended Monday's session with a gain of 6.22%. Smaller firm Cowen gave the company a buy rating last week . - CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed reporting.

Nikola Motor's Tre semi-truck.

Nikola Motor Company

(This story is for CNBC PRO subscribers only.)

Shares of battery-electric and hydrogen-powered truck maker Nikola haven't even been trading for a full month, but the stock already looks fully valued, JPMorgan said Monday in initiating coverage of the company with a neutral rating.

The bank is the first of the biggest Wall Street firms to rate the red-hot stock, which has seen shares nearly double since going public through a reverse merger on June 4.