Shares of Nio surged nearly 5% on Thursday, rebounding from earlier losses in the week and nearly touching their highest level since January 2024.
Over the last few days, several Wall Street analysts raised price targets, production reportedly began at the Chinese electric vehicle maker’s third plant, and the profitability target was reaffirmed by the management.
The stock climbed as much as $7.71 intraday before paring gains to close at $7.47, up 4.9%, with trading volume at about 93 million shares.
Nio shares have more than doubled (118%) over the past three months and are up 71% year-to-date.
The stock hit its all-time high in January 2021 during an EV market bubble that drove several EV makers’ shares to levels not seen since.
Nio’s rally has pushed the stock to levels not seen in nearly 20 months, with Thursday’s intraday peak of $7.71 just shy of the 52-week high.
Short interest stands at about 9.3% of the float.
Taking advantage of the stock price surge, the Shanghai-headquartered company announced on September 10 that it was raising more than $1.1 billion in a new equity offering.
Citi analyst Jeff Chung on Tuesday raised his price target to $8.60 from $8.10 while reiterating a Buy rating, and added Nio to the bank’s 30-day upside catalyst watch list.
Mizuho Securities’ Vijay Rakesh lifted his target to $7 from $6, maintaining a Neutral stance, while Japan’s Nomura raised its target by 68% to $8.40 from $5.
Bank of America on Monday also increased its target to $7.60 from $7.10, keeping its Neutral rating.
That makes four banks boosting their price outlooks in 48 hours, following the company’s unveiling of its third-generation ES8 SUV at its annual event in Hangzhou over the weekend.
The model debuted at a significantly lower starting price (120,000 yuan) than its predecessor.
Adding to the momentum, local media Yicai reported earlier this week that production has already quietly begun at Nio’s third factory, located near its main facilities in Hefei.
However, and as of early Friday no official statement from the company regarding a start of production or factory inauguration.
The new plant — known as F3 — is located about 5 miles away from Nio’s main factory at the industrial park ‘Neo Park’ and is reportedly currently producing the new iteration of the ES8.
Nio also guided earlier this month for a record September in monthly deliveries, driven by strong demand for its new ES8, which it says is sold out for the next six months.
The Group expects to deliver between 34,678 and 38,678 EVs this month. Official figures are planned to be announced on the first day of October.
Earlier this week, Deutsche Bank said it expects the company to report 35,000 vehicles delivered for September — slightly above the low end of the guidance provided on September 2.
Orders placed on Thursday showed waiting times of 24–26 weeks, extending delivery into March 2026.
Founder and CEO William Li reaffirmed at a media roundtable on Sunday that Nio is targeting its first profitable quarter in the final three months of this year, aiming to deliver 150,000 vehicles in the period across its three brands.
The company plans to produce 40,000 ES8s this year, while output of the mass-market Onvo L90 is expected to reach 15,000 units per month by October.
ES8 production is expected to ramp to the same monthly capacity by December.
For the full year 2025, the EV maker said late last year it aimed to double its output — which represents slightly above 440,000 units delivered.
Year to date deliveries stood at 166,472 vehicles as of August 31, representing a 30.0% from the first eight months of 2024.
With around 35,000 vehicles delivered this month, year-to-date sales are expected to exceed 200,000 units, leaving about 240,000 more to reach the annual target.
