Li Auto Stock

Wang Xing, CEO of Meituan, cashed in about HK$311 million last week in four consecutive sell-offs of Li Auto's Hong Kong-traded shares.

While Li Auto's underlying execution remains strong, Nio, Xpeng will be more compelling growth stories in coming quarters, said Deutsche Bank.

A top Chinese government meeting on Monday boosted investor optimism, with Nio and Xpeng, the laggards of the past few months, coming into more favor.

Wang Xing has cashed out HK$420 million in the past half month by cutting his stake in Li Auto, but remains the NEV maker's largest external shareholder.

Li Auto leads the pack with superior execution, but risk-reward increasingly favors Xpeng and Nio after a drastic sell-off this year, Morgan Stanley said.

China EV stocks are up an average of 20 percent year-to-date but have underperformed China tech ADRs since December, likely due to investor concerns about weak first-quarter sales and increased competition, according to Edison Yu's team.

Li Auto fell below HK$100 for the first time since early June, accumulating a 32 percent drop from its recent high on June 24.

Shen has reduced his holdings of Li Auto shares several times since last December.

Li Auto's management could achieve its goal of transitioning from EREV to BEV, but the road ahead could get much rockier, said Edison Yu's team.

While the beginning of the month is usually slow for the auto industry, Li Auto's apparent lagging performance behind its peers may have raised some concerns.