Shares of XPeng Inc. (NYSE: XPEV) surged 5.41% in pre-market trading Monday after Ming-Hsun Lee, a top-rated analyst at Bank of America, upgraded the stock from Neutral to Buy. Lee’s bullish stance comes hand in hand with a price target hike, soaring from $16.30 to $22.
This upgraded target paints a promising picture for investors, suggesting a whopping upside potential of 46.86% from current levels. Notably, this optimistic rating is bestowed upon XPeng despite the recent earnings hiccup the company faced just last week.
The Chinese electric vehicle (EV) giant, often touted as a fierce rival to Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA), recently reported a net loss of 2.8 billion yuan (equivalent to US$390 million) for the second quarter. This loss represents a significant increase from the 2.7 billion yuan loss reported in the same period last year, marking the XPEV’s most substantial quarterly loss to date.
Revenues for the quarter were reported at 5.06 billion yuan (US$693.7 million), meeting market expectations. However, this still signifies a 31% decline compared to the previous year.
XPeng Inc. (NYSE: XPEV) attributed this earnings slump to three factors, including inventory write-downs, increased sales promotions, and the termination of Chinese EV subsidies.
As of press time, XPeng stock is trading at $15.79, up 5.41% compared to the previous session.
Edward Cooke is a financial analyst, freelance writer, and editor. He has six years of experience in financial journalism. He has an in-depth understanding of equities markets, tracking major indices and providing real-time analysis on stock price movements, corporate earnings, and market sentiment.
