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Bullish on the Steady Growth of Tesla’s Rivals
Stock Analysis & Ideas

Bullish on the Steady Growth of Tesla’s Rivals

There’s bad news afoot for Tesla (TSLA), as the leader in electric vehicle production is increasingly under fire from its rivals. Recent reports from the Chinese electric vehicle market, featuring Li Auto (LI), Nio (NIO), and Xpeng (XPEV), all showed some surprisingly positive results. Are any of these worth considering for a slot in your portfolio? The answer, almost just as surprising, is probably.

As a result, I am bullish on Li Auto, Nio, and Xpeng. (See Analysts’ Top Stocks on TipRanks)

Nio, for example, is significantly off its highs for 2021 but has been holding a new mark rather nicely. The company kicked off the year up around the $60 mark, but with mid-February’s arrival began a spectacular slump that saw the company dip below the $40 mark for the first time in months.

Nio wavered around that mark until early June when a new leg up took the company over the $50 mark for the first time since February. That gain didn’t last, and the company is currently in the mid-$30 range. (See Nio stock charts on TipRanks.)

Li Auto has had a much wilder ride. January 11 saw the highest closing mark for the year, but now, it is challenging those levels with its most recent trading. In between was a massive slump that saw the company’s value nearly cut in half before recovering, slumping again, and ultimately recovering once more. (See Li Auto stock charts on TipRanks.)

Xpeng had a similar run to Li Auto. Its high point for the year hit in late January as well before starting a series of dives and recoveries that defined most of 2021 for the company. The lows in mid-May were almost as quickly wiped out as the highs in January. Now, the company has slid into the high $40 range, after almost re-testing those earlier highs ($56.39 closing point seen on January 22) by briefly cracking $55. (See Xpeng stock charts on TipRanks.)

News that all three companies saw positive shipping results in November gives all three a new edge in their ongoing battle with Tesla. Nio delivered 10,878 vehicles in November, which is better than double the amount seen in November 2020. Li Auto brought out 13,485, nearly tripling its November 2020 figures. Xpeng blew the entire field away in growth rates, however, shipping almost four times the number sent out this time last year with 15,613 vehicles delivered.

Wall Street’s Take

Turning to Wall Street, Nio has a Strong Buy consensus rating. That’s based on eight Buys and one Hold assigned in the past three months. The average Nio price target of $60.67 implies 67.6% upside potential. Analyst price targets range from a low of $45 per share to a high of $87 per share.

Meanwhile, Li Auto also has a Strong Buy consensus rating. That’s based on seven Buys assigned in the past three months. The average Li Auto price target of $50.99 implies 50.4% upside potential. Analyst price targets range from a low of $43 per share to a high of $64 per share.

Finally, Xpeng also has a Strong Buy consensus rating. That’s based on five Buys assigned in the past three months. The average Xpeng price target of $73 implies 51.2% upside potential. Analyst price targets range from a low of $56 per share to a high of $92 per share.

Elon Whistles While the Market Roars

However, currently, Tesla is still the market leader in electric cars. Recent word featured CEO Elon Musk informing the entire company that it should focus on cost containment rather than expediting deliveries. Already, analysts are projecting that Tesla’s deliveries growth for 2022 could exceed the 50% mark. Tesla’s current third-quarter deliveries—around 241,000 units—were already impressive enough.

It is a bit distressing that all of Tesla’s rivals are posting triple-digit gains to Tesla’s hopeful double-digit gains. However, given that 50% growth for Tesla represents a several-fold-percentage increase at any other competitor, this can be somewhat overlooked.

Even worse, Tesla is now marketing a stainless-steel whistle designed and named after its Cybertruck line. Dubbed the Cyberwhistle, this stainless-steel beauty costs customers $50 a crack. It sold out within a matter of hours.

It’s unnerving to see a company mocking whistleblowers—especially after some of the recent legal issues Tesla has faced—by offering a collectible whistle for them to blow. It’s less unnerving to see customers so interested that they will buy an unusually-shaped metal whistle for $50.

I’d call this hubris, except it’s too big a success to call it that. Still, branching out from Tesla into the rest of the electric vehicle market may be a good backup plan should something go awry at Tesla.

Concluding Views

Essentially, right now, considering any of Tesla’s rivals isn’t a bad plan. All of them are bargain-priced against Tesla shares, and each has a solid share of the Chinese market. Based on earlier reports, most are either planning or considering global expansions.

While there is a certain risk involved—we all remember the de-listing threats of the Trump Administration—that risk is fairly light. With each of Tesla’s rivals enjoying substantial analyst support and trading at comparatively low prices, it’s easy to be bullish on a Tesla rival right now.

Disclosure: At the time of publication, Steve Anderson did not have a position in any of the securities mentioned in this article.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article represents the views and opinion of the writer only, and not the views or opinion of TipRanks or its affiliates  Read full disclaimer >

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