Stardust Power (NASDAQ:SDST) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.14 EPS

Stardust Power (NASDAQ:SDST) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported ($0.53) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.39) by ($0.14), FiscalAI reports.

Here are the key takeaways from Stardust Power’s conference call:

• Management said Q1 marked a transition from de-risking the Muskogee Lithium Refinery to financing and execution, with the project now positioned for major construction once funding is secured.
• The company received its air quality construction permit and completed FEL 3 engineering with third-party validation, clearing key regulatory and technical hurdles needed to begin construction.
• Stardust Power said it advanced financing options by securing access to up to $15 million through an equity financing facility and signing an LOI for up to $150 million in project-level financing.
• The company expanded its feedstock pipeline with multiple LOIs, including one for up to 15,000 metric tons per annum of lithium chloride from a U.S.-based brine project, supporting its domestic sourcing strategy.
• Financially, the company remains pre-revenue and still depends on additional capital to fund the next 12 months, while Q1 net loss widened to $5.2 million from $3.8 million year over year.

Stardust Power Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SDST traded down $0.04 during trading on Friday, reaching $2.24. 162,757 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 309,119. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $2.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.33 million, a PE ratio of -1.12 and a beta of 0.56. Stardust Power has a 12-month low of $1.42 and a 12-month high of $7.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Stardust Power news, insider Bruce Czachor sold 17,655 shares of Stardust Power stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.29, for a total transaction of $40,429.95. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 22,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,170.05. The trade was a 44.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders sold 27,041 shares of company stock worth $62,140. Insiders own 55.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stardust Power

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp bought a new stake in Stardust Power during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Stardust Power by 40.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 59,143 shares of the company’s stock valued at $181,000 after purchasing an additional 16,989 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD bought a new stake in Stardust Power during the 4th quarter valued at $69,000. 32.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on SDST shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Stardust Power from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Stardust Power in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

About Stardust Power

Stardust Power Inc is a vertically-integrated lithium refinery that engages in producing battery-grade lithium. The company was founded in 2022 and is based in Greenwich, Connecticut.