It has been a mixed run for EV stocks lately. However, there’s no confusing the action in electric vehicle (EV) maker Nio (NYSE:NIO) today. NIO stock is racing higher by about 7% on the day.
While many automakers report quarterly production numbers rather than monthly, all eyes will be on automakers this weekend and early next week. That’s because both the monthly and the quarterly reporters will be issuing their results.
Could investors be buying ahead of that event?
NIO stock is rallying hard, but so are others. Rivian (NASDAQ:RIVN) is up around 10% today. So is Xpeng (NYSE:XPEV) stock, despite Cathie Wood selling shares earlier this week. Finally, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock is up slightly on Wednesday, as is Li Auto (NASDAQ:LI).
According to one source, “Nio, Xpeng and Li Auto all recorded monthly delivery increases in February,” despite Xpeng’s deliveries being down year-over-year (YOY). Further, “Analysts said some of the uplift in sales in February could be explained by the fact that Lunar New Year landed in January this year.”
Good News Coming for NIO Stock?
For the first quarter, Nio had previously guided for about 20% growth for deliveries of 31,000 to 33,000 vehicles. Now, better-than-expected March delivery results could compel buyers to step up and gobble up more NIO stock.
That said, the situation with Nio has been quite mixed.
At one point, NIO was looked at as the next big EV stock out of China. However, BYD (OTCMKTS:BYDDY) already has a big presence there. Then Tesla carved out a bigger footprint, as did Xpeng and Li.
Combined with economic worries and a bear market in stocks, NIO stock has struggled. Shares are enjoying a strong, two-week rally that has them higher by more than 15%. The rally has been strong enough to erase the stock’s year-to-date (YTD) losses. Nio is now up nearly 2% in 2023.
That said, the company is still down more than 50% over the past 12 months and just recently hit 52-week lows.
All told, the month-end and quarter-end reports will be important. Strong deliveries and production could point to a strong quarter. Some may speculate that a strong quarter from Tesla may also help reignite the bull trade for EV stocks.
On the date of publication, Bret Kenwell did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
