What happened
After tumbling more than 8% last week, shares of Volta (VLTA), a specialist in electric-vehicle (EV) charging, are extending their slide Monday morning. Two factors are charging up bears' pessimism today, leading them to leave their positions: changes coming to the company's C-suite and an analyst's dour outlook on the stock.
As of 10:56 a.m. ET today, Volta's stock had fallen 14.7%.
So what
Volta announced today that the company's founder, Scott Mercer, will be stepping down as CEO after a transitional period; however, he isn't completely walking away from the company. In addition to assisting in Volta's search for a new CEO, Mercer will act as an advisor to the board of directors through March 31, 2023.
Mercer's departure isn't the only one rattling shareholder confidence. Effective immediately, Chris Wendel, Volta's co-founder and president, has also resigned from the company and the board.
Image source: Getty Images.
In the press release announcing the shake-up, Mercer addressed the company's future, stating "Volta was started with the ambition to be the best business model in the EV charging space, and now the company's focus needs to turn to scaled, public-market-facing growth."
Responding to the change in the management team, Matt Summerville, an analyst at D.A. Davidson, downgraded Volta's stock to neutral from buy and slashed his price target to $5 from $13, according to Thefly.com.
Now what
The stock's slide today isn't all that surprising considering how the market is often wary when there are big changes to management teams -- especially a founder and co-founder leaving in the way that Mercer and Wendel are departing. In light of this development, it will be especially interesting to see what this EV-charging company has to share when it reports fourth-quarter earnings.
