Institutional investors and professional traders rely on The Fly to keep up-to-the-second on breaking news in the electric vehicle and clean energy space, as well as which stocks in these sectors that the best analysts on Wall Street are saying to buy and sell.
From the hotly-debated high-flier Tesla (TSLA), Wall Street’s newest darling Rivian (RIVN), traditional-stalwarts turned EV-upstarts GM (GM) and Ford (F) to the numerous SPAC-deal makers that have come public in this red-hot space, The Fly has you covered with “Charged,” a weekly recap of the top stories and expert calls in the sector.
BUY TESLA: On May 2, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage of Tesla with an Overweight rating and $230 price target. Tesla benefits from future upside from its Full Self-Driving software, the introduction of lower-priced models, a global manufacturing footprint with economies of scale, and the industry’s largest Charging Infrastructure, the firm tells investors in a research note. Shares are down 28% year to date, and this is a good entry point for investors who are comfortable taking on volatility, Cantor says.
PROFOUND REALIGNMENT: Morgan Stanley said on Thursday that it believes Tesla is “in the midst of the most profound realignment of priorities and strategy in the company’s history.” Given this view, the firm says it is “understandably, confusing” but “given time, it may make sense.” The EV industry is “entering a commoditized dark age, while the AI and robotics industry is entering a renaissance,” says Morgan Stanley, which sees Tesla “making room for the AI ‘capital game'” as stories have surfaced around Tesla’s delaying the Model 2, making a greater than 10% headcount cut, downsizing its supercharger team and slowing gigacasting spend. Tesla’s AI potential will remain capped “unless and until the voting control issue is resolved,” added the firm, which keeps an Overweight rating and $310 price target on Tesla shares.
Click here to check out Tesla’s recent Media Buzz Sentiment as measured by TipRanks.
BALANCED RISK REWARD: UBS upgraded Rivian Automotive to Neutral from Sell with an unchanged $9 price target. The near-term risk-reward on the stock has become more balanced at current levels as shares now price in about $4.5B in 2025 sales vs. consensus that stands still at $7.5B, the firm tells investors in a research note. Short interest on the stock has also climbed to about 19% of free float, positioning the name better if a positive data point or a catalyst emerges, even though shares are likely to remain volatile, UBS adds. The firm further notes “solid” demand for Rivian vehicles despite the slowing EV market as one of the factors behind its bull thesis, though a reluctance by investors to buy shares ahead of a likely capital raise underpins the bear case.
DELIVERIES: XPeng (XPEV) announced its vehicle delivery results for April, saying it delivered 9,393 Smart EVs, representing a 33% increase year-on-year, up 4% over the prior month. The XPeng X9 achieved monthly deliveries of 1,959 units in April, with cumulative deliveries nearing 10,000 units since its launch, maintaining its position as the all-electric MPV in China. Year-to-date, XPeng has delivered 31,214 Smart EVs, a 23% increase year-on-year. In April, the monthly active user penetration rate of XNGP in urban driving scenarios reached 82%.
Meanwhile, Nio (NIO) said it delivered 15,620 vehicles in April, representing a strong increase of 134.6% year-over-year. The deliveries consisted of 8,817 premium smart electric SUVs, and 6,803 premium smart electric sedans. Cumulative deliveries of Nio vehicles reached 495,267 as of April 30. On April 25, Nio launched its 2024 ET7, a smart electric executive sedan. Deliveries of the 2024 ET7 began on April 30. On April 25, Nio entered into a strategic cooperation with Lotus Technology, a global luxury electric vehicle maker, on charging and swapping.
Li Auto (LI) also announced that the company delivered 25,787 vehicles in April, up 0.4% year over year. The cumulative deliveries of Li Auto vehicles reached 739,551 as of the end of April. As of April 30, the company had 481 retail stores in 144 cities, as well as 361 servicing centers and Li Auto-authorized body and paint shops operating in 210 cities. 386 super charging stations have commenced operation across the country, equipped with 1,678 charging stalls.
