Barclays downgrades Nio to Underweight on new model weakness

Barclays analyst Jiong Shao downgraded Nio to Underweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $4, down from $5. The analyst says weaker March sales suggest Nio’s troubles in selling its 2024 models, which launched in March, are putting its 2024 consensus estimates at “significant risk.” With weaker than expected deliveries in March, Nio’s Q1 deliveries came in in line with revised guidance of 30,000 provided on March 27 but below its original guidance provided on March 5, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says the miss reflects weaker sales momentum of the new 2024 models which were just launched in early March. With limited new product launches in the pipeline planned for the rest of 2024, Barclays sees significant risks for Nio’s ability to meet consensus estimates for the reminder of the year.