SPAC-ageddon Is Here. Or Maybe Not. Either Way, Investors Beware

Barron's2021-04-21

SPAC-ageddonis here. Or maybe not.Either way, whatever is happening hurts.

Investors in special-acquisition companies and firms recently merged with SPACs are watching their stocks sink—fast. And yet,the steep, swift selloffmight be a boon for bargain hunters.

TheDefiance Next Gen SPAC Derived ETF(ticker: SPAK) is down about 32% from its 52-week high. On Tuesday, the drop was 2.6%.

And the ETF’s more than 200 stocks, on average, are off even a bit more—roughly 33% from their 52-week highs and 11% in the past month alone.

There are probably good deals hiding in plain sight, but finding them is the trick.

One of the hardest-hit stocks in the ETF isHyliion Holdings(tHYLN). Shares of the electric vehicle maker are down about 85% from their 52-week high.

A lot ofEV SPACshave been hammered. Shares ofQuantumScape(QS), Lordstown Motor (RIDE),XL Fleet(XL),Romeo Power(RMO),Canoo(GOEV), and Churchill Capital Acquisition (CCIV), the SPAC merging with Lucid Motors, are down about 80% from their highs on average.

All the pain isn’t reserved just for EV stocks, though.AppHarvest(APPH), Desktop Metal (DM) and AST Sciences (ASTS) are examples. Their shares are down about 65% on average.

About 80% of all the stocks in the ETF are down year to date. The declines have wiped out roughly $400 billion in market value, which represents only about 1% of the total market capitalization of the S&P 500. SPACs are relatively small.

Sorting through what to snap up might take a while. Contrarian investors might want to start now.

Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.

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