3 Analysts Discuss EV Maker XPeng Shares After Q4 Results By Investing.com

Xpeng Inc (NYSE:) reported Q4 earnings results yesterday.

The company reported a Q4 loss per share of 76 RMB, compared to the loss per share of 53 RMB in the year-ago quarter. Revenue in the fourth quarter came in at 8.56 billion yuan, topping the consensus estimates of 8.12 billion yuan. Net loss in the period totaled 1.29 billion yuan.

The Chinese electric vehicle maker reported 41,751 vehicle deliveries in Q4, above the consensus projection of 40,922.

The gross margin stood at 12% in the period, slightly below the analyst expectations of 12.6%.

For the first quarter, Xpeng (NYSE:) expects revenue in the range of 7.2 billion yuan to 7.3 billion yuan, missing the consensus estimates of 7.59 billion yuan. The company expects vehicle deliveries in the range of 33,500 to 34,000 units, short of the 38,310 consensus.

Fueled by our strong vehicle models on the market, planned new launches based on new platforms, and technology leadership, we are confident in our continued growth trajectory and structural improvement of gross margin.

Three Wall Street analysts have reflected on the company and XPEV shares following earnings.

JPMorgan (NYSE:)’s Nick Lai (Overweight, $42):”XPeng’s 4Q21 result today was a mixed bag where GPM missed on weaker sales mix but OP/ bottom line beat thanks to lower-than-expected opex. Managements tone on the analyst call was cautiously optimistic considering the company’s recent price hikes (to mitigate input cost increase) and new model launches this year. We believe XPeng’s stock performance will be stronger in 2H22 as we project margin to expand from 1H22 while sales volume also benefits from easing supply constraint, new capacity and new model.”

Citis Jeff Chung (Buy, $92): “Our positive view towards its business outlook is based on: 1) our expectation that the company will gain market share in the BEV sector, given its superior NEDC range compared with peers, its leading autonomous driving technology and its quicker product launch pace (enabled by its two flexible EV platforms and a two-pronged manufacturing approach); 2) expectation of a sharp volume growth translating to greater economies of scale; and 3) all this along with battery cost reduction materially driving up margins. The company should also benefit from China’s newly-launched NEV subsidy.”

BofAs Ming Hsun Lee (Buy, $50 down from $61): “Considering price hike, we lower 2022E sales by 2% and lower target EV/sales to 5.5x (was 6.6x, in line with XPengs historical average). Our new PO is USD50/HKD194 (was USD61/HKD236). We reiterate Buy on XPeng given its robust model pipeline and leading capability in AD to win share in China EV industry.”

By Senad Karaahmetovic