Li Auto Inc. (NASDAQ:LI) Short Interest Up 19.6% in August

Li Auto Inc. (NASDAQ:LI) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 31,710,000 shares, a growth of 19.6% from the August 15th total of 26,520,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 6,990,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.5 days.

Li Auto Price Performance

LI traded down $0.97 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $39.68. The stock had a trading volume of 5,577,441 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,155,983. The company has a market cap of $39.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 172.52 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a fifty day moving average of $40.29 and a 200 day moving average of $31.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 1.77. Li Auto has a 1 year low of $12.52 and a 1 year high of $47.33.

Li Auto (NASDAQ:LI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 8th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter. Li Auto had a return on equity of 3.92% and a net margin of 2.45%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Li Auto will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Li Auto

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. abrdn plc raised its holdings in shares of Li Auto by 0.9% during the second quarter. abrdn plc now owns 27,844 shares of the company’s stock valued at $977,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Li Auto by 28.5% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,136 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in Li Auto by 3.5% in the second quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 8,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Li Auto by 2.0% during the second quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $911,000 after buying an additional 501 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Li Auto by 9.0% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,000 after buying an additional 502 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 9.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. TheStreet upgraded Li Auto from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Monday, August 28th. Barclays lifted their target price on Li Auto from $34.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 10th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Li Auto from $208.80 to $250.30 in a research note on Thursday, August 10th. HSBC lifted their target price on Li Auto from $38.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 28th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Li Auto from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.42.

About Li Auto

Li Auto Inc, through its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and sells new energy vehicles in the People's Republic of China. The company provides Li ONE and Li L series smart electric vehicles. It also offers sales and after sales management, and technology development and corporate management services, as well as purchases manufacturing equipment.