UBS increases GM's price target to $50 on 'aggressive' EV plans; stock jumps 6%

• UBS said GM is "fully back on track and likely enjoys strong momentum well into 2021," including its electric vehicle plans.
• Analyst Patrick Hummel cited a re-rating by investors on the automaker to as an "aggressive" electric vehicle story is likely during the next one to two years.
• GM stock surged more than 6% during early afternoon trading to $41.59 per share – its highest intraday price since August 2019.

An undated handout photo shows the new Cadillac Lyriq, one of the electric vehicles that General Motors Co said on October 20, 2020, that its Spring Hill, Tennessee, factory will begin to produce.

General Motors Co. | Reuters

General Motors shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday for a second consecutive day after UBS increased its 12-month price target for the automaker's stock to $50 a share, up from $34.

UBS analyst Patrick Hummel said GM is "fully back on track and likely enjoys strong momentum well into 2021," including its electric vehicle plans. Investors will start to see GM as more of an "aggressive" electric vehicle company over the next year or two, instead of a slow-growth manufacturer like the rest of the Detroit carmakers, he said.

"With a focus on crystallizing value of its EV strategy ... GM will likely get more credit for being a relative winner in the transition," Hummel wrote in an investor note late-Monday.

GM stock surged by as much as 6.8% during trading early afternoon to $41.59 per share – its highest intraday price since August 2019. Shares were trading up 6.6% to $41.53 as 1:08 p.m.

Cruise, GM's majority-owned autonomous vehicle subsidiary, also announced a pilot delivery partnership Tuesday morning with Walmart. The tie-up includes a small fleet of autonomous vehicles delivering groceries and other items to customers near Scottsdale, Arizona.

– CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.

Correction: Shares of GM reached their highest level since August 2019. A previous version of this article misstated that date.