Morgan Stanley has sharply increased its position in Chinese EV maker Nio during the second quarter, adding 12,690,265 shares to vault past UBS and become the company’s second-largest institutional shareholder.
The Wall Street bank held 27,411,634 Nio American depositary shares (ADS) as of June 30, according to its latest 13F filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
The addition represents an 86.2% increase from the 14,721,369 shares held at the end of March.
At Thursday’s closing price of $4.50, the position is worth approximately $123.4 million.
Morgan Stanley’s updated position in Nio approaches its all-time record of 28,215,881 shares, set in the first quarter of 2024, ranking as the second highest it has ever held in the company.
The purchase pushed Morgan Stanley above UBS Group, which held 19,271,326 shares as of the same date — after a 56.1% quarterly increase reported earlier this week.
D.E. Shaw, which held a larger disclosed position as of the end of Q1, had not yet filed its quarterly portfolio update with the SEC as of Friday morning.
A Volatile History
Morgan Stanley’s investment history in Nio has been defined by dramatic swings.
The second-quarter buildup marks a sharp reversal from a relatively muted first quarter.
Between January and March, Morgan Stanley had trimmed its Nio holdings by about 548,000 shares, or about 4%, ending Q1 at 14.72 million shares.
Quarterly data stretching back to early 2022 shows the firm’s holdings oscillating between 10 million and 28 million shares, with sharp quarter-over-quarter moves in both directions.
After holding between 12.9 million and 15.4 million shares through most of 2022, the bank steadily built its position through the first half of 2023, peaking at 19.7 million shares by the end of Q2 2023.
A gradual reduction through the second half of 2023 took the position to 18.1 million shares, before the massive Q1 2024 build to 28.2 million and subsequent Q2 sell-off to 15.8 million shares.
A second large build in Q4 2024 pushed holdings to 24.3 million shares, only for the firm to sell again through the first half of 2025.
Morgan Stanley’s Nio position reached its lowest level in over three years in the first half of 2025, falling to just 10.1 million shares — a 51.5% reduction from the Q1 2024 peak.
A recovery through the second half of 2025 brought the stake to 15.3 million by the end of 2025.
Stock Performance
The stock has traded under pressure since early June, weighed in part by the US Department of Defense’s decision on June 9 to add Nio to its list of companies designated as Chinese military companies.
Nio has contested the classification and stated that all operations and securities trading continue as normal.
The company delivered 107,658 vehicles across its three brands — Nio, Onvo, and Firefly — in the second quarter, a 49.4% increase year-over-year but short of the company’s own guidance range of 110,000 to 115,000 units.
The EV maker posted its first-ever GAAP-profitable quarter in Q4 2025 and is targeting a full year of non-GAAP operating profitability in 2026.
First-quarter revenue rose to approximately 25.5 billion yuan ($3.7 billion), with vehicle margin reaching 18.8%.
Broader Institutional Landscape
As of the most recent filings, Nio has 509 institutional holders with a combined position of approximately 302.6 million shares, according to Nasdaq data.
Other major positions among its top 10 holders include Renaissance Technologies at 16.2 million shares, while BNP Paribas Financial Markets rounded out the top 10 at 12.4 million shares.
JP Morgan slashed its stake by 59% during the quarter, the sharpest single-quarter cut in the bank’s history with the stock.
BlackRock trimmed its position by 11.8%, ending a two-quarter buildup.
Deutsche Bank reduced its holding by 17.9%, while Wolverine Asset Management cut its put options position for a fourth consecutive quarter.
On the other side of the ledger, Citigroup returned to Nio buying for the first time in five quarters with a 37.7% increase.
IMC-Chicago more than doubled its position during the same period.
Friday marks the 45-day deadline for institutional investment managers with at least $100 million in qualifying assets under management to file Form 13F covering positions held as of June 30.
D.E. Shaw, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Two Sigma, Citadel, and Aspex Management are among those which had yet to file their portfolio updates as of press time.
Morgan Stanley Chinese Auto Exposure
Morgan Stanley’s Q2 buying in Nio was part of a wider increase in its exposure to Chinese auto stocks.
The bank also added significantly to its positions in XPeng and Li Auto during the same period.
Morgan Stanley held 9,586,523 XPeng shares by the end of Q2, after adding 4,137,650 shares during the quarter — a 75.9% increase. The position is currently worth approximately $112.9 million.
The firm also increased its Li Auto stake to 4,640,842 shares, adding 853,976 shares for a 22.6% increase. Morgan Stanley’s Li Auto position is valued at approximately $56.9 million.
