WeRide rally shows excitement around Nvidia stake, says Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley says WeRide (WRD) shares rallied 83% last Friday, attributable to the market’s excitement around Nvidia’s (NVDA) investment in WeRide. Nvidia’s latest quarterly filing revealed a holding of 1.74B shares of WeRide, which is drawing substantial positive attention to the company, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Morgan Stanley believes this, combined with low liquidity and potential participation of quant funds, led to a dramatic stock movement, with WeRide’s stock price soaring by as much as 146% in a single trading session. The firm sees the rally as an indication of investor enthusiasm surrounding self-driving technology and underscores the importance of strategic alliances in the evolving robotaxi landscape. Chinese robotaxi solution and hardware suppliers, like WeRide, Hesai and Zeekr, will be competitive options when global peers consider building their robotaxi fleets globally, according to Morgan Stanley. It keeps an Overweight rating on the shares with a $23 price target.