The shares of Chinese EV maker Nio went up by more than 7 percent to $18.30 in early trading on Wednesday after getting a bull rating from Deutsche Bank.
The bank initiated coverage on Nio Tuesday with a Buy rating and a $24 price target, representing a 33 percent upside potential from Friday's close.
Deutsche Bank analyst Edison Yu said a research note that there is an emerging class of Chinese automakers backed by large, well-capitalized tech titans and "ambitious" local governments looking to disrupt the auto industry: Nio, Xpeng, Li Auto, and WM Motor.
Given its stronger brand perception, higher sales volume, focus on the premium SUV segment, and "battle-tested" operational track record, Nio is the leader of "Fab Four", said the analyst.
Yu said all the four EV makers can co-exist with Tesla in China "as there is still plenty of runways to capture market share away from traditional ICE automakers."
With the China electric vehicle market already the world's largest and now "inflecting upward after the recent downturn," Nio is well-positioned to take a share in the premium segment, said Yu.
Earlier this month, Credit Suisse analyst Bin Wang had also raised the price target of Nio by 42.86 percent from $17.50 to $25, a new Wall Street high, with an “outperform” rating.
At the end of August, UBS raised its rating for Nio from "sell" to "neutral", bumping its price target from $1.00 to $16.30 which represents a jump of 1,530%.
Shares of Chinese EV makers Li Auto and Xpeng also went up by 5.89 percent and 2.43 percent, respectively, as the broader US market recovered from previous tech selloffs.
