Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Li Auto (NASDAQ:LI)

Li Auto Inc. (NASDAQ:LI) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 95,208 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 327% compared to the average daily volume of 22,310 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Li Auto

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Li Auto by 2,556.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 3,630,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,503,000 after purchasing an additional 3,493,881 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Li Auto in the second quarter worth approximately $21,626,000. SIH Partners LLLP grew its holdings in shares of Li Auto by 508.2% in the first quarter. SIH Partners LLLP now owns 890,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,976,000 after purchasing an additional 744,419 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Li Auto by 20.5% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 726,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,993,000 after buying an additional 123,838 shares during the period. Finally, Ariose Capital Management Ltd bought a new stake in Li Auto during the 3rd quarter valued at $18,099,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.88% of the company’s stock.

Li Auto Price Performance

NASDAQ LI traded up $0.52 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $28.94. 10,661,907 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,036,293. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.31. Li Auto has a 1 year low of $17.44 and a 1 year high of $46.44. The company has a market cap of $30.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 0.98.

Li Auto (NASDAQ:LI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $4.36 billion during the quarter. Li Auto had a return on equity of 13.70% and a net margin of 7.65%. On average, analysts predict that Li Auto will post 1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on LI. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Li Auto from $25.50 to $29.60 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Li Auto from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Li Auto from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $33.00 price target (up previously from $25.00) on shares of Li Auto in a report on Friday, October 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Li Auto currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.66.

Li Auto Company Profile

Li Auto Inc operates in the energy vehicle market in the People's Republic of China. It designs, develops, manufactures, and sells premium smart electric vehicles. The company's product line comprises MPVs and sport utility vehicles. It offers sales and after sales management, and technology development and corporate management services, as well as purchases manufacturing equipment.