As investor focus shifts to EVs, analysts expect these auto stocks to soar

Published Sun, Jul 9 20238:29 PM EDT

Investors are piling into electric vehicle stocks after the latest Tesla numbers showed it beat expectations for vehicle deliveries. The news lifted Tesla shares even further, with the stock up 124% year-to-date. Rivian shares also got a boost, after it reported deliveries that topped estimates. Vanda Research in a Thursday note said it's seeing signs of some rotation from AI stocks to EVs. "We expect to see more retail demand for EV stocks going forward," the note said, highlighting "laggards" such as Nio , Li and Plug in particular. Morgan Stanley in a July 5 report struck an optimistic tone on China-made EVs, saying a flood of affordable electric vehicles from China and other emerging markets will "meet the need for cheaper EVs." "Just a few years ago, China-made cars were poorly designed with inferior quality, but today they surpass rival foreign models on affordability, quality, and the tech-driven user experience," the bank said. Its base case for China-made EVs implies 38% annual offshore sales growth through 2030. EV stocks with upside To see which EV stocks are expected to continue to rise, CNBC Pro screened two ETFs on FactSet: the KraneShares Electric Vehicles & Future Mobility Index ETF and the Global X Autonomous & Electric Vehicles ETF . The resulting stocks have at least 10% average upside to price target, 10 or more analysts covering the stock, and a buy rating from at least 50% of the analysts. Chinese EV makers BYD and Geely Automobile got the highest potential upsides to their price targets from analysts, at 31% and 45% respectively. Last week, BYD announced plans to launch a new electric SUV, its most direct competitor yet to Tesla' s Model Y. Stellantis , which is traded in New York, Milan and Paris, has the highest buy rating, from 78% of analysts. Bernstein in a June report forecast that car manufacturers are set to see incremental revenues from greater investment in software. It listed Stellantis as one example, citing the carmaker's forecast of $23 billion in annual revenue by 2030. — CNBC's Michael Bloom, John Melloy and Fred Imbert contributed to this report.