Dalio's Bridgewater Nearly Doubled Stake In Nio As Institutional Investors Pile Into EV Maker

Nio Inc – ADR NIO shares are nearly flat after last Friday's bloodbath set in motion by Citron Research. The recovery is in part supported by an increase in institutional buying, as revealed by 13F filings.

What Happened: Bridgewater Associates, the world's biggest hedge fund with over $130 billion in assets under management, held about 1,569,456 shares of Nio, valued at $33.3 million, as of Sept. 30, according to its most recent 13F filing.

This represents an 83.34% increase from the 856,026 shares the hedge fund held at the end of June, which was valued at $6.61 million.

Institutional ownership of Nio is about 545,699,605, valued at $11.315 billion, according to Fintel. Institutional ownership now accounts for about 50.5% of Nio's outstanding shares of 1.082 billion.

California Public Employees Retirement System, the largest public pension fund in the U.S., revealed in its 13F filing it held about 2.25 million shares of Nio, valued at $48.69 million, at the end of September. This is an increase from the 1.913 million shares it held as of June 30.

Related Link: Can Nio's Q3 Earnings Reignite The Rally Cut Short By Citron's Warning?

Why It's Important: The increased interest among institutional investors reflects their confidence in the Chinese EV maker and its future. This comes in contrast to Citron's call, which suggested an unsustainable valuation.

Nio is scheduled to report its financial results Tuesday after the market close. The earnings call is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.

The company is widely estimated to report a narrower loss of 17 cents per share on revenues of $653.73 million. This compares to the year-ago loss of $2.38 and revenues of $262.47 million.

A beat-and-raise quarter could help the shares claw back all their losses. At last check, Nio shares traded around $44.33.