Cars and Drivers

Electric Carmaker Xpeng's IPO Jumps 54% 

Paul Ausick

Published: August 27, 2020 1:58 pm

Last Updated: August 31, 2020 12:07 pm

Guangzhou, China-based Xpeng Motors Inc. (NYSE: XPEV) raised approximately $1.5 billion Thursday morning in the company’s initial public offering (IPO). Shares were priced at $15, above the expected range of $11 to $13, and Xpeng also boosted its offer from 85 million American depositary shares (ADS) to 99.7 million. Each ADS is equal to two ordinary shares.

This is the second IPO for a China-based electric vehicle maker in less than a month. On July 30, Li Auto Inc. (NASDAQ: LI) came public at $11.50 per share, above its expected range of $8 to $10, and raised about $1.1 billion by selling 95 million ADSs.

One has to wonder if the demand for EV-makers’ stocks hasn’t outrun demand for their vehicles. Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) has added about 440% to its share price so far in 2020, and the stock shows no signs of pulling back. With a market cap of around $400 billion, Tesla is the world’s most valuable car company.

At its opening price of $23.10 per share, Xpeng has a market cap of around $17 billion, roughly equal to Li Auto and about 30% below Nio Ltd. (NYSE: NIO) with a market cap of around $24 billion.

Xpeng’s first trading has cast a chill on Li Auto’s stock. The ADSs are trading down more than 16% at $19.59 in a post-IPO range of $14.31 to $24.48. The consensus price target on the stock is $19.85.

Nio traded down about 2%, at $20.04 in a 52-week range of $1.19 to $20.97. The high was posted Wednesday. The price target on the stock is $13.02.

Xpeng traded up nearly 59% at $23.80 in the mid-afternoon Wednesday. The stock’s range Thursday is $22.27 to $25.00.