Al Root

NIO stock has been on a tear lately, and shares are soaring again Monday. This time, U.S. investors might be looking at Hong Kong prices.

U.S.-listed American depositary receipts of the Chinese electric-vehicle maker were up 6.5% in premarket trading at $6.75 a piece, while S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 0.3%. The rise comes after a massive 14.4% gain on Friday.

NIO shares rallied late last week after the company officially unveiled its new ES8 SUV, available for preorder at just 308,800 yuan ($43,000) with a battery subscription plan. NIO is a leader in battery-swapping technology. Drivers can replace entire battery packs at a NIO station, instead of waiting for a recharge.

The ADRs closed at $6.34 on Friday, which works out to about 49.50 Hong Kong dollars. (NIO shares also trade in Hong Kong.) On Monday, NIO's Hong Kong-listed shares rose 15.2% to $52.70, which works out to $6.75 for the U.S.-listed ADRs.

The difference between the two market prices explains the Monday move in the U.S. Global traders can try to arbitrage price differences in different markets if the gap is large enough. A 6%-plus gap is large enough.

Coming into Monday trading, NIO stock was up more than 50% this year, with momentum building for several reasons.

Before the ES8, NIO introduced the L90 SUV. Citi analyst Jeff Chung expects it to sell more than 10,000 of those vehicles a month in the fourth quarter. That's significant for NIO. The company has been selling 20,000 to 30,000 cars a month for the past few months.

"With strong volume momentum and cost control, we expect NIO to achieve net profit breakeven in [the fourth quarter]," wrote Chung in a Friday report. That's better than the Wall Street consensus. Overall, analysts expect NIO to lose 15 cents per share in the fourth quarter, according to FactSet.

New launches in 2025, profitability, and more new launches in 2026 are all reasons Chung says he rates NIO shares Buy. His price target is $8.10 for NIO ADRs.

Overall, 56% of analysts covering NIO stock rate shares Buy. The average Buy-rating ratio for stocks in the S&P 500 is about 55%. The average analyst price target, however, is $5.50 per ADR, below where the ADRs are trading.

Wall Street has had trouble keeping up with NIO's rise.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com

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August 25, 2025 09:27 ET (13:27 GMT)

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