NIO Stock Slips Overnight: D.E. Shaw Dumps Over Half Its Stake, Loses Top-Holder Crown

• D.E. Shaw cut its Nio stake by 52.5%, selling 20.1 million shares during the second quarter.
• The firm’s stake has plunged 62.2% in six months, pushing it from Nio’s largest institutional holder to fourth.
• ES8 deliveries climbed 15% to 10,288 in July, while the ES8 and ES9 comprised 83% of Nio-brand deliveries.

U.S.-listed shares of Nio, Inc. (NIO) slipped over 1% overnight late Monday after D.E. Shaw revealed it had sold more than half its stake in the Chinese EV maker, overshadowing fresh momentum for the company’s flagship ES8 SUV.

Nio’s U.S.-listed shares jumped 2% on Monday to finish the session at $4.6. 

D.E. Shaw Dumps 20M Shares

The New York-based investment firm held 18.2 million Nio American depositary shares (ADS) as of June 30, down 20.1 million shares, or 52.5%, from three months earlier, according to a regulatory filing. The stake was valued at $92.1 million, down from $231.1 million at the end of March. The sale knocked D.E. Shaw from first to fourth among Nio’s institutional shareholders, allowing Morgan Stanley to claim the top spot with 27.4 million shares.

D.E. Shaw held 48.2 million Nio shares at the end of December, meaning its position fell 62.2% in six months. Its options exposure also collapsed: calls for Nio shares plunged 99.1%, while puts fell 68.5%.

However, the firm retained $84.7 million of Nio’s 3.875% convertible notes due in 2029 and $38.25 million of its 4.625% notes due in 2030. Both positions were unchanged from March, leaving its combined principal investment at nearly $123 million. Meanwhile, the firm more than doubled its stake in rival Rivian to 20.8 million shares, a 141% increase. Its Tesla position remained broadly unchanged.

ES8 Closes In On 140,000 Deliveries

Yang Bo, Nio’s head of user operations, said on Weibo that cumulative deliveries of the large premium SUV are set to reach 140,000 this week. The model crossed 130,000 deliveries on July 22, suggesting the latest 10,000 vehicles took only around one month, according to CnEVPost.

This keeps the ES8’s pace near 10,000 deliveries per month, helped by a five-seat version introduced in July. The variant starts at 382,800 yuan ($56,400), about 6% below the three-row models, while the price falls to 274,800 yuan under Nio’s battery-subscription plan. Deutsche Bank analysts previously said some customers had delayed purchases while waiting for the five-seat version, contributing to the ES8’s weaker June performance.

Deliveries rebounded nearly 15% sequentially to 10,288 units in July, returning above the 10,000 mark after June ended a seven-month streak. Through July, ES8 deliveries totaled 88,947 vehicles, which is over 20x the year-earlier figure.

Together with the recently launched ES9, the ES8 accounted for much of Nio’s premium sales mix. The two SUVs delivered a combined 16,603 vehicles in July, representing 83% of deliveries under the main Nio brand. The brand recorded an average transaction price of 434,600 yuan during the month, implying about 8.7 billion yuan in sales based on delivery volume.

How Do Retail Traders Feel About NIO?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for NIO has been ‘bearish’ over the past week amid a 181% jump in 24-hour message volumes.

One bullish user said “$NIO is overdue to get back to 60s”

A bearish user said, “$NIO I used to have over 22000 share of this, sold around $6 and jumped on the AI bubble, yes nothing wrong with a bubble as long as it makes $$$ 3x my money in less then a year.”

Nio’s U.S.-listed shares have declined 4% over the past year. 

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