What happened
While technology stocks were mostly falling Thursday, shares of one Chinese electric vehicle maker jumped early in the session. Nio's (NIO 0.34%) American depositary shares spiked by almost 4% before giving those gains back, and then some. At the close, Nio shares were down about 2.7% on the day.
So what
The early spike came a day after Credit Suisse analyst Bin Wang said Nio was his top pick in China's auto sector, and offered a price target of $83 per share. That target is nearly 250% higher than Wednesday's closing price of $23.76 per share. Wang also pointed to several likely growth triggers for Nio stock this year in his note, details of which were shared by Benzinga.
Image source: Nio.
Now what
Those growth catalysts include the anticipated start of deliveries of Nio's first sedan, the luxury ET7 model, in late March. It will follow that up with its midsize ET5 sedan, which it plans to start shipping in September.
Nio delivered 91,429 electric vehicles in 2021, but analyst Wang thinks the new sedans will help it grow its annual delivery number to 150,000 in 2022, a 64% jump. The electric automaker also plans to begin selling vehicles in more European countries this year after its initial foray into Norway in 2021 -- its first venture outside of China. Nio has said it expects to expand into Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark in 2022.
While Thursday morning's gains didn't hold as the overall tech sector continued to struggle, if Wang is right, there will be plenty more gains to come for Nio shares.
