Fisker stock has 177% upside with the company one of the few EV makers on pace to launch on time, Morgan Stanley says

• Fisker shares will surge 177% from current levels over the next year, said Morgan Stanley on Tuesday in a report resuming coverage on the EV maker.
• The firm said that the target is achievable as it sees Fisker starting production of its Ocean vehicle on time in November 2022.
• Morgan Stanley has an overweight rating on Fisker.

Fisker shares will nearly triple to $40 apiece over the next year with the electric-vehicle maker looking set to meet its target to launch production of its first vehicle late next year, Morgan Stanley said Tuesday.

The investment bank resumed coverage of Fisker with an overweight rating, and the $40 base target would mark a 177% increase from the $14.46 closing price on Friday.

"We believe FSR may be one of the only EV-related startups to actually launch on time and ramp efficaciously in late 2022," equity analyst Adam Jonas wrote in the research note. Fisker last week backed its projection to begin production of its Ocean SUV on November 17, 2022.

"If we know nothing else besides the company achieving the November 2022 [start of production] for the Ocean near budget, we believe this alone may be sufficient to drive the stock to our price target," said Jonas, adding that it understands the production date is also that of Fisker's contract manufacturing partner.

Fisker shares jumped as much as 30% on Tuesday. The stock has been recovering since experiencing a sharp sell-off from highs reached in late February. Fisker went public through a deal with Spartan Energy Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, backed by Apollo Global Management.

Jonas said the biggest pushback against Fisker it receives is that the company outsources too much to its suppliers.

"We see FSR as an EV design/engineering lab and consumer experience 'architect,' … a time-to-market accelerator for manufacturing powerhouses who need to get product into market as quickly and successfully as possible. In our opinion, FSR's business model is the strategy."

Fisker's CEO Henrik Fisher touted progress on Ocean's production work on Twitter on Monday, saying the final product will be shown in at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November.