Morgan Stanley slightly reduced its stake in Nio during the fourth quarter, ending a two-quarter streak of increases in the Chinese EV maker, according to a regulatory filing published Friday.
The New York-headquartered firm held 15,269,286 shares in Nio by the end of 2025, down 5.55% from the nearly 16.2 million shares at the end of September.
Based on Friday’s closing price, the stake is currently wort $75.6 million.
Volatile History
Morgan Stanley invested in the Shanghai-headquartered EV maker shortly after the 2018 initial public offering.
The bank’s holdings peaked at 28,215,881 shares in the first quarter of 2024, a position then worth $126.9 million.
It then slashed its stake by 44% in the second quarter of that year, selling more than 12.4 million shares.
The firm continued trimming its position through the first half of 2025, reaching a low of 10,094,319 shares by June — a 51.5% reduction and its smallest holding since mid-2021.
Morgan Stanley reversed course in the third quarter of 2025, boosting its stake by 60% as Nio shares more than doubled from $3.51 on July 1 to $7.62 on September 30.
The stock price surge was primarily driven by the launch of Nio Group‘s two three row SUVs: the Onvo L90 and the third generation Nio ES8.
Nio Institutional Ownership
Between mid-2022 and mid-2025, the number of Nio shares held by institutional investors dropped over 61%.
According to Nasdaq data on Monday, a total of 492 institutional investors held 298.9 million shares combined in Nio.
Among those that have filed Q4 updates, UBS remains Nio’s largest institutional shareholder following backer CYVN Holdings, with 24.5 million shares valued at $121.5 million after a 14.7% reduction.
BNP Paribas Financial Markets ranks second with 21.6 million shares worth $107 million, a 16.2% increase.
Jane Street Group holds third place with 19.5 million shares valued at $96.7 million after a slight 1.6% increase.
Morgan Stanley currently ranks fourth with its $75.6 million position, followed by Goldman Sachs in fifth place after boosting its stake by 57.8% to 14.4 million shares worth $71.1 million.
JPMorgan Chase emerged as a significant buyer, increasing its holdings by 268% to 12.7 million shares valued at $62.8 million.
WT Asset Management cut its stake by 32.4% to 12.6 million shares valued at $62.4 million, after having returned to the stock in Q3 following a three-year absence.
Several institutions have yet to file their Q4 portfolio updates.
Based on Q3 positions as of September 30, D.E. Shaw held 13.8 million shares, Ghisallo Capital Management held 12 million shares, and Voloridge Investment Management held 11.8 million shares.
Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund CYVN Holdings remains Nio‘s largest overall shareholder with a 21.7% stake, built through $2.94 billion in investments completed in 2023.
