NIO Vehicle Deliveries Fall 5.5% in May; Street Remains Bullish

Chinese smart electric vehicle manufacturer NIO Inc (NIO) revealed its vehicle delivery numbers for May. The company delivered 6,711 vehicles, a year-over-year increase of 95.3%. However, deliveries decreased 5.5% compared to April.

The drop in deliveries from April was due to the adverse impacts of the volatility in semiconductor supply and logistical issues.

Despite the chip shortages faced by the global auto industry, NIO believes that with its current production and delivery plan, it will be able to speed up deliveries in June and overcome the delays of May.

Additionally, NIO has reiterated its delivery guidance of 21,000 to 22,000 vehicles in Q2. As of May 2021, the total number of vehicles delivered by the company so far this year stood at 109,514. (See NIO stock analysis on TipRanks)

Recently, Citigroup analyst Jeff Chung upgraded NIO to Buy from Hold and raised the price target to $58.30 (51% upside potential) from $57.60.

For 2021, Chung expects new energy vehicle sales in the Chinese market of 2.52 million units, up from his previous forecast of 1.79 million units. The analyst foresees an acceleration in the Q2 order backlogs, increasing NIO’s revenue visibility for H2 2021 along with market share.

Chung sees NIO as a “Beta Proxy” of the new energy vehicles market.

Based on 8 Buys and 1 Hold, consensus among analysts is that NIO is a Strong Buy with an average analyst price target of $60.79, implying 57.4% upside potential.

Shares have dropped about 27.8% so far this year.