Here's Why Nio Shares Are Rallying To A Multi-Month High

Nio Inc – ADR NIO shares have been heading higher since Wednesday's open and are perched at their highest level since late January.

Goldman Sachs Turns Bullish On Nio 

Goldman Sachs analyst Fei Fang upgraded Nio from Neutral to Buy with a $6.40 price target on Wednesday. 

The liquidity challenges that threatened Nio's finances last year are shrinking, the analyst said, with narrowing cash burn. 

Nio's year-to-date delivery volume is up 37% on a year-over-year basis in the first four months of 2020, according to Goldman Sachs. 

"We believe ES6 and ES8 volume strength has transitioned from being promotion-driven to reputation-driven," Fang said.

It's the first time a domestic premium Chinese auto brand has had a waiting list, the analyst said. 

In addition to the Goldman Sachs upgrade, a few catalysts have panned out for Nio in the near term.

Nio's Driverless Project Picks Up Pace

A report in Israeli newspaper Globes said Nio sent its recently launched ES8 model car to Israel in connection with its advanced development project with Intel Corporation's INTC Mobileye unit.

Nio struck a partnership with the Intel unit in November 2019 to develop highly automated and autonomous vehicles for consumer markets.

As part of the project, Nio will manufacture and install kits for level four autonomous driving that are being developed by Mobileye in its electric vehicles, according to Globes. 

Level four would mean driverless cars in pre-defined lanes and under restrictions.

"These level four vehicles will ultimately be used as robo-taxis to provide mobility-as-a-service (MAAS) (driverless ride-hailing services) although they will also be sold to private individuals," the Globes report said.

Mobileye is also reportedly set to develop a system that would help the EVs take the shortest route to the nearest charging point when the battery runs dry and complete unmanned charging, the report added.

Nio and Mobileye are planning to test drive the car on roads in Israel once the kit is installed.

Nio is betting on innovation and cost control to make a mark in the growing Chinese EV market, which has several players vying for a piece of the cake.

Nio's Recovering Sales Trajectory

Even as bigger rival Tesla Inc TSLA reported a sharp month-over-month decline in sales for April, Nio increased sales by 105.8%.

The company is likely to report its May sales results shortly. Some of the buying may also have to do with positive expectations concerning the numbers.

At last check, Nio shares were skyrocketing 14.26% to $5.37.

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Photo courtesy of Nio.