fbpx

NIO: Tactical Investment Opportunities Arise

Your capital is at risk if you invest. You could lose all your investment. Please see the full risk warning here.

In the article for Chinese EV carmaker NIO published in December, the points in favour of the company (as opposed to the U.S.-listed stock) included high operational achievements via its joint venture, leadership’s clearly-defined and ambitious plans for growth as well as its steady focus in building out infrastructure for its offering.

What merited an advisory was the threat of delisting in light of growing regulatory pressure, with an advisory to investors with access to Eastern exchanges to keep an eye for the company’s IPO over there. Since then, the company has gone on to successfully list in both the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE) as well as the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX) four days ago. The SGX listing offers a layer of ease for investors averse to the HKSE as well as ease of access to investors in the prosperous ASEAN belt. 

However, given the economic scenario as well as the company’s performance, the overall outlook for the company would do well with a nuanced consideration. 

Fiscal and Ratio Trends

The company’s most recent earnings release was the annual report at the end of April this year, which provides an excellent foundation for trend studies:

The study of trends reveal:

  1. While growth in revenue holds steady year-on-year, growth in total cost of sales and operating expenses have relatively increased.

  2. While gross profit – signifying earning efficiency from the production and sale of goods and services – has surged spectacularly, net income – signifying overall profitability – continues to be depressed (albeit improving).

An interesting pattern in recent commentary regarding the company’s offering has been its positioning versus Tesla, Inc (TSLA): various publications have indicated that NIO could be a «Tesla Killer». Be that as it may, a comparison versus Tesla isn’t completely ridiculous: in China (and over the new few years in Western Europe), both companies’ products have significant overlap in terms of addressable consumer segment.

A ratio analysis of both companies’ stock performance, however, don’t show any significant disparities beyond a general «ratio cool-off» since the end of 2021:

Now, data providers typically don’t furnish ratios that are too high or too low on account of such information being meaningless in terms of actionable insight. This is certainly true for NIO’s PE Ratio (PE). In the Price to Sales (PS) and Price to Book (PB) Ratios, both instruments show roughly analogous drops.

However, not all sources decline to furnish data on «meaningless» ratios. For instance, Zacks’ shows that – unlike with Tesla – the company has had highly adverse PE valuations (which continues to be so).

Given that prices can never be negative, this indicates that the company has witnessed a significant rally in prices even during its low-earning periods. This isn’t surprising, given the trends seen in 2019 through 2021 – a highly overvalued equity market in the U.S..

Another investment tracking service has an eclectic selection of companies that it considers to be comparators for NIO, albeit with slightly different terminology. Relative to this selection, the company’s PE Ratio is listed as being «at loss» – similar to other «pure-play» EV newcomers Lucid and Rivian:

As mentioned in the previous article about Nio, given that the company had announced a new brand for mass-market EVs in its Q2 update to compete with VW and Toyota in China, it can be expected that the company’s expenses will continue to impose a strain on its profitability. In fact, consensus estimates – as per Nasdaq – indicates that this ratio will likely worsen all the way through 2023 followed by a very sharp turnaround by the end of 2024: 

In Conclusion

Given the facts presented and strong industry consensus, NIO shows strong potential to be a «growth stock» with a two-year horizon. The company’s offering is attractive and its breadth of addressable consumer segments is likely to improve with the inclusion of a «mass-market» EV roster. The quest for the latter, however, will weigh down profitability for the next few years given the capital-intensive investments necessary in this industry but there’s no indication at present that that the company will fail in its endeavour. It bears noting that competition in its primary market – the People’s Republic of China – will be cut-throat, to say the least.

As highlighted in the article on the biotech sector, current times aren’t very conducive for ever-rising price trajectories in growth stocks. Thus, this stock would likely be quite attractive to those investors who are willing to wait a couple of years to see a substantial and sustained positive portfolio impact.

Currently, there are some indication that the stock is undergoing price discovery – albeit with a somewhat declining trajectory due to its «growth stock» status. For European investors, there are a number of leveraged/leveraged inverse exchange-traded products (ETPs) based on the company’s stock that capitalize on the current price discovery patterns. It bears noting, however, that investment into ETPs require both discipline and active management: inter-day price trajectories determine the payoff structure as well as the risk profile.

Your capital is at risk if you invest. You could lose all your investment. Please see the full risk warning here.

Post correlati

Violeta-540x540-1.jpg
Violeta Todorova
Supply, demand disequilibrium and lower US rates could squeeze the non-precious metal
Supply, demand disequilibrium and lower US rates could squeeze the non-precious metal
Violeta-540x540-1.jpg
Boyan Girginov
Supply, demand disequilibrium and lower US rates could squeeze the non-precious metal
Supply, demand disequilibrium and lower US rates could squeeze the non-precious metal
Supply, demand disequilibrium and lower US rates could squeeze the non-precious metal
Q2 is poised for European stocks’ turnaround and rising interest in energy stocks
Q2 is poised for European stocks’ turnaround and rising interest in energy stocks
Violeta-540x540-1.jpg
Sandeep Rao
Q2 is poised for European stocks’ turnaround and rising interest in energy stocks
Q2 is poised for European stocks’ turnaround and rising interest in energy stocks
Q2 is poised for European stocks’ turnaround and rising interest in energy stocks
Escalation of the conflict in the Middle East threatens to derail the economic recovery.
Escalation of the conflict in the Middle East threatens to derail the economic recovery.
Violeta-540x540-1.jpg
Violeta Todorova
Escalation of the conflict in the Middle East threatens to derail the economic recovery.
Escalation of the conflict in the Middle East threatens to derail the economic recovery.
Escalation of the conflict in the Middle East threatens to derail the economic recovery.
What is an ETF? How does an ETF work? Key characteristics of ETFs.
What is an ETF? How does an ETF work? Key characteristics of ETFs.
Violeta-540x540-1.jpg
Boyan Girginov
What is an ETF? How does an ETF work? Key characteristics of ETFs.
What is an ETF? How does an ETF work? Key characteristics of ETFs.
What is an ETF? How does an ETF work? Key characteristics of ETFs.
Violeta-540x540-1.jpg
Pawel Uchman
A quick primer on leveraged instruments available in markets today.
A quick primer on leveraged instruments available in markets today.
Violeta-540x540-1.jpg
Sandeep Rao
A quick primer on leveraged instruments available in markets today.
A quick primer on leveraged instruments available in markets today.
A quick primer on leveraged instruments available in markets today.

Violeta Todorova

Senior Research

Violeta se unió a Leverage Shares en septiembre de 2022. Ella gestiona la realización de análisis técnicos, investigación macroeconómica y de acciones, y ofrece información valiosa que ayuda a la definición de estrategias de inversión para los clientes.

Antes de unirse a LS, Violeta trabajó en varias empresas de inversión de alto perfil en Australia, como Tollhurst y Morgans Financial, donde pasó los últimos 12 años de su carrera.

Violeta es una técnica de mercado certificada de la Asociación Australiana de Analistas Técnicos y tiene un Diploma de Postgrado en Finanzas e Inversiones Aplicadas de Kaplan Professional (FINSIA), Australia, donde fue profesora durante varios años.

Julian Manoilov

Marketing Lead
Julián se unió a Leverage Shares en 2018 como parte de la principal expansión de la compañía en Europa del Este. Él es responsable de diseñar estrategias de marketing y promover el conocimiento de la marca.

Oktay Kavrak

Head of Communications and Strategy

Oktay se incorporó en Laverage Shares a fines de 2019. Él es responsable de impulsar el crecimiento del negocio al mantener relaciones clave y desarrollar la actividad de ventas en los mercados de habla inglesa.

Él vino de UniCredit, donde fue gerente de relaciones corporativas para empresas multinacionales. Su experiencia previa es en finanzas corporativas y administración de fondos en empresas como IBM Bulgaria y DeGiro / FundShare.

Oktay tiene una licenciatura en Finanzas y Contabilidad y un certificado de posgrado en formación empresarial de Babson College. También es titular de una certificado CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst).

Sandeep Rao

Investigación

Sandeep se unió a Leverage Shares en septiembre de 2020. Está a cargo de la investigación de líneas de productos existentes y nuevas, clases de activos y estrategias, con un enfoque particular en el análisis de eventos y desarrollos recientes.

Sandeep tiene una larga experiencia en los mercados financieros. Comenzó en un hedge fund con sede en Chicago como ingeniero financiero, su carrera abarcó varios dominios y organizaciones durante un período de 8 años, desde la División de Prime Services de Barclays Capital hasta (más recientemente) el Equipo Index Research de Nasdaq.

Sandeep tiene una maestría en Finanzas, así como un MBA del Illinois Institute of Technology de Chicago.

Gold Retreats But Rally is Not Over

Copper Ready to Explode

Q2 2024 Market Outlook: Rocky Road Ahead

What is an ETF? (Exchange Traded Fund)

How Do Leverage Shares ETPs Trade in Multiple Currencies

Currency Impact

Build your own ETP Basket
Leverage Shares: Europe’s top leveraged and inverse ETP provider.
Main ETP benefits
Common investor questions

Get the Newsletter

Never miss out on important announcements. Get premium content ahead of the crowd. Enjoy exclusive insights via the newsletter only.