Lucid Stock Pops 31%. Thank a Saudi Prince. -- Barrons.com

By Al Root

Lucid stock soared on Tuesday after the disclosure of a stake by a prominent investor.

Shares of the EV maker traded as high as $8.50, up 31%, before settling at $7.81, up 20% in late trading. The SP 500 was up 0.3%.

The catalyst appears to be the disclosure of a stake by Saudi investor Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud. He reported a 19.5 million share stake on Tuesday.

Lucid is majority-owned by entities connected with the Saudi government, but the prince's stake is different.

The company confirmed the stake was new and not affiliated with the government.

"We don't comment on individual investments, but we are aware and appreciate the independent vote of confidence," added Lucid in an emailed statement.

Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud has been labeled the Arabian Warren Buffett, reflecting his long experience and investing success.

The vote of confidence comes at an interesting time for the company. Earlier in July, a report from EV news portal electric-vehicles.com suggesting the company might seek bankruptcy protection sent shares as low as $2.37.

The company strongly denied the report, and shares recovered. Still, Tuesday's jump leaves it down roughly 30% year to date and 70% over the past 12 months.

It's been tough for money-losing EV start-ups. U.S. EV sales have stalled after the September expiration of the $7,500 federal EV purchase tax credit, and higher interest rates have made it tougher to finance operations.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

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July 28, 2026 15:19 ET (19:19 GMT)