Shares of Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Nio (NYSE: NIO) have been flying recently. Nio’s American depositary shares were up by 11.1% as of 3:50 p.m. ET today. That brings its five-day surge to a whopping 38%.

That move was initiated by Nio’s promising second-quarter earnings report last week. And the positive momentum continued today after the company caught an upgrade from one Wall Street analyst and a very bullish label from another.

Nio’s “upside catalyst watch”

When Nio reported its second-quarter results at the end of last week, it showed strong improvement in its gross profit margin compared to the first quarter, and beat analyst expectations with its third-quarter delivery and revenue guidance.

After shipping a record 57,373 EVs in the quarterly period, the company said it expects to deliver between 61,000 and 63,000 EVs in the third quarter. That led J.P. Morgan analyst Nick Lai to upgrade Nio shares and significantly raise his firm’s price target.

Lai now thinks investors should buy Nio stock and sees the stock reaching $8 per share. That’s up from his previous target of $5.30 per share and would represent a gain of nearly 50% from recent levels. His reasoning is that operating cash flow will turn positive for the remainder of 2024, which should eliminate the need for Nio to raise fresh capital. Nio ended the second quarter with about $5.7 billion on its balance sheet.

At the same time, Citigroup analyst Jeff Chung opened a 30-day “upside catalyst watch” on the stock. That designation means he thinks Nio shares are on the verge of moving higher. He also cited the rising gross profit margin as a key reason, reports Barron’s.

Whether it was the encouraging quarterly report or the backing of Wall Street analysts, investors have been jumping into Nio shares. The stock’s move higher can continue if the company keeps showing real progress toward achieving profitability.

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Citigroup is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Howard Smith has positions in Nio. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends JPMorgan Chase. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Why Nio Stock Continued to Soar Today was originally published by The Motley Fool