5 Best EV Battery Stocks To Invest In

2. NIO Inc. (NYSE:NIO)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 30

NIO Inc. (NYSE:NIO) is a Chinese EV manufacturer that was first to offer battery-as-a-service to EV owners. In April, the Shanghai-based company introduced NIO Power Swap Station 2.0, a drive stop where EV owners can get a fresh battery pack installed in about five minutes. By the end of September, the EV manufacturer had deployed a total of 517 battery swap stations across China. NIO Inc. (NYSE:NIO) intends to build 4,000 battery swap stations in China by 2025, with 1,000 of them deployed internationally.

Bo Pei of Tiger Securities is bullish on NIO Inc. (NYSE:NIO), initiating a Buy rating on the EV stock with a price target of $45 on December 8. Pei believes the Chinese electric car manufacturer is best positioned to “ride the global smart” electric vehicle adoption trend in the next ten years.

In the third quarter of 2021, NIO Inc.’s (NYSE:NIO) total revenue grew 116.6% year over year to $1.52 billion. The EV maker was able to increase its gross margin in Q3 2021 to 20.3% from 12.9% in Q3 2020. 

Among the 867 elite funds tracked by Insider Monkey, New York-based investment firm D E Shaw is the biggest shareholder of NIO Inc. (NYSE:NIO). As of the end of the September quarter, the fund owned 6.9 million shares of the EV company worth $246 million.