Investors Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Li Auto (NASDAQ:LI)

Li Auto Inc. Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:LI) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock traders purchased 11,960 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 42% compared to the typical daily volume of 8,401 put options.

Li Auto Price Performance

Li Auto stock traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $12.18. The company had a trading volume of 632,845 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,746,452. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.57. Li Auto has a 12-month low of $11.65 and a 12-month high of $27.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The company has a market capitalization of $13.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.18 and a beta of 0.55.

Li Auto (NASDAQ:LI) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The company reported ($0.22) earnings per share for the quarter. Li Auto had a negative return on equity of 6.58% and a negative net margin of 4.44%.The business had revenue of $3.78 billion during the quarter. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Li Auto will post -0.13 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Li Auto

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Xiamen Xinweidachuang Investment Partnership Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Li Auto in the 2nd quarter valued at $57,833,177. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Li Auto by 133.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,636,156 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,431,000 after acquiring an additional 1,505,991 shares during the last quarter. SIH Partners LLLP increased its position in Li Auto by 184.7% during the fourth quarter. SIH Partners LLLP now owns 2,199,063 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,230,000 after purchasing an additional 1,426,745 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in Li Auto by 648.8% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 727,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,259,000 after buying an additional 630,516 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Li Auto by 167.0% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 536,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,087,000 after buying an additional 335,718 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Li Auto from $15.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Zacks Research raised shares of Li Auto from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of Li Auto in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $14.50 price objective on shares of Li Auto in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Li Auto from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.28.

About Li Auto

Li Auto Inc is a Chinese automotive company that develops, manufactures and sells smart electric vehicles, with an early focus on range-extended electric SUVs designed for family use. The company is headquartered in China and serves the domestic market through a combination of online channels and a network of retail/showroom locations. Li Auto was founded to address range-anxiety in electric vehicle buyers by integrating a small internal-combustion engine as a range extender alongside a large battery, enabling longer driving range while retaining electric driving characteristics.

The company’s product lineup centers on multi‑occupant SUVs that combine electric propulsion, advanced in‑vehicle connectivity and driver‑assistance features.