It’s been a rollercoaster year so far for China-based electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Nio (NYSE:NIO) and its shareholders. After a recent downward correction in NIO stock, is it time to take a long position? I would say yes, and it’s better to get in now because you’re likely to regret it later on if you hesitate.
Suffice it to say there’s been a lot going on with Nio lately. For instance, a Nio executive reportedly said that the company plans to produce its own autonomous-driving chips in one to two years.
Yet, I don’t recommend waiting a year or two to buy NIO stock. An upcoming event could potentially garner a lot of positive press coverage for Nio, so you can either position yourself for gains now or get left behind.
What Some NIO Stock Traders Are Worried About
Many U.S.-listed stocks representing China-based businesses have performed poorly lately. This is largely due to concerns about China’s economy. However, there are indications that China’s government may soon implement some business-friendly policy changes.
A more pressing concern for some NIO stock traders is Tesla’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) price cuts. As InvestorPlace contributor Dana Blankenhorn reported, Tesla slashed its vehicle prices by $1,900 in China and announced an insurance subsidy. Moreover, Tesla CEO Elon Musk warned in his most recent earnings call that further EV price cuts may be coming.
Blankenhorn isn’t overly concerned about Nio’s future prospects, and neither am I. As Blankenhorn put it, Chinese President “Xi Jinping will do more to set the future course of Nio stock than Elon Musk” will.
After all, Nio drives in a different lane than Tesla. Nio focuses on the luxury vehicle market and expects to maintain customer loyalty through outstanding service and battery swaps. So, investors shouldn’t lose sleep at night over Tesla’s price-cutting tactics.
Nio’s Big Day Is Coming Soon
Folks, you need to mark your calendar for the morning of Aug. 29. That’s when Nio plans to announce its second-quarter 2023 financial results.
In the run-up to this event, a number of experts on Wall Street lifted their price targets on NIO stock. Two examples are Morgan Stanley analyst Tim Hsiao, who raised his Nio share price target from $12 to $18.70, and Deutsche Bank analyst Edison Yu, who hiked his price target on the stock from $13 to $17.
Yet another example are analysts with Bank of America, who raised their Nio share-price target from $15.40 to $16.20. Evidently, these experts are fairly confident about Nio’s ability to deliver positive results.
It’s hard to blame them for being optimistic. After all, Nio knocked it out of the park in July with 20,462 vehicle deliveries, up 103.6% year over year. This result, by the way, marks a monthly EV delivery record for Nio.
For this year’s second quarter, analysts expect Nio to report an earnings loss of 41 cents per share. That would be Nio worst quarterly earnings per share (EPS) result in a long time. Thus, the bar has been set very low despite Nio’s evident ramp-up in vehicle deliveries.
Grab Some NIO Stock Shares Before Aug. 29
When a company is performing well but Wall Street’s expectations are unambitious, that’s a setup for a positive surprise. So, get ready for Nio to deliver results that surpass analysts’ forecasts, perhaps even by a wide margin.
Of course, there are no guarantees that this will happen. Nevertheless, I feel that the odds are in your favor if you own NIO stock before Aug. 29. Or, feel free to sit on the sidelines, but don’t say I didn’t warn you in advance of a potentially explosive rally.
On the date of publication, David Moadel did not have (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.
