Shares of Workhorse Group Inc.
WKHS,
-4.58%
rose 2.5% in premarket trading Thursday, after the provider of "drone-integrated electric vehicles" announced a pilot program with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Workhorse said the pilot program is to demonstrate its ability to provide small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS) as a service to support NRCS's supervisory efforts in Mississippi. "Engaging in this pilot agreement with the NRCS is the first step in expanding our footprint beyond package delivery and the last mile delivery space," said John Graber, Workhorse president of aerospace. "Our sUAS technology presents opportunities to diversify our product offerings as well as our potential customer base." The stock has rallied 27.4% over the past three months through Wednesday but has tumbled 50.5% year to date, while the S&P 500
SPX,
+0.25%
has gained 9.5% the past three months and rallied 18.4% this year.