By Senad Karaahmetovic
Li Auto (NASDAQ:LI) shares are down roughly 4% in pre-open Tuesday after the company filed for the potential sale of shares via Goldman Sachs, UBS, Barclays, and China International.
Li Auto will look to sell a maximum of $2 billion worth of stock, with the proceeds from the sale to be used for R&D, development and manufacturing, working capital needs, and general corporate purposes.
Previously, Li Auto stock gained in pre-open after UBS analyst Paul Gong introduced it to the bank’s Key Call list.
The move comes after the company said it received 30,000 orders within 72 hours for its recently-launched SUV - L9.
“If monthly sales exceed 10k units, which we think is likely, L9 would be the highest-priced model among Chinese auto brands to achieve such sales and would leave more room for Li Auto to add new models to its portfolio. We believe Li Auto is on track to generate the highest revenue growth and margins among new EV makers,” Gong told clients in a note.
The analyst hiked the price target to $60.00 per share from $52.00 to reflect “significantly enhanced growth potential.”
Similarly, HSBC analyst Yuqian Ding hiked the price target to $47.00 per share from $35.00 on boosted volume expansion.
“We expect the ramp-up of its new model L9 from 3Q22e, more new model offerings including BEV type in 2023e, and potentially more favorable EV policies in the mid-long term could further catalyze the stock price,” Ding wrote in a client note.