Tesla (TSLA) shares moved higher Monday after data from China showed a slowdown in monthly sales as supply-chain disruptions continue to trim capacity at its Shanghai gigafactory in the world's biggest car market.
Shares were given an early Monday boost, as well, by a Securities and Exchange Commission filing showing Adage Capital Partners had increased its stake in the group by 21.3%, to 824,300 shares.
The China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) said Tesla sold 59,845 China-made cars in January, a 15.5% decrease from the carmaker's record December total of 70,847 units in it most important market.
However, overall China car sales only fell 1.4% from December to January, to 2.11 million units, and Tesla's main rival Nio NIO saw sales fall 8% tp 9,652 vehicles. Xpeng sales were down 19.2% to 12,922 units, the CPCA said.
Tesla cautioned earlier this year that supply-chain disruptions have held back production capacity and will impact the pace of near-term output, a warning that took some of the gloss from a record fourth quarter, which saw revenues rise 65% from last year to an-all time high of $17.72 billion.
"For quite some time now, (Freemont and Shanghai) factories have been running below capacity due to macro challenges with supply and logistics," Tesla CFO Zach Kirkhorn told investors in late January. "From what we're seeing, the pace of growth in 2022 will, again, be determined by supply chain and logistics, which is quite difficult for us to forecast."
Tesla shares were marked 3.5% higher in early afternoon trading Monday to change hands at $890.54 each, a move would trim the stock's three-month decline to around 15%.
Late last year, Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk said the Model S Plaid, the car-maker's high performance luxury sedan, will be made available in China "probably around March".
The Plaid, priced at $140,000, has a charge range of 520 miles and reportedly can reach top speeds of 200 miles per hour.
"With China being the biggest EV market, Tesla’s ambitious production plans in the country turned out to be fruitful. Increased production of Model 3 and Y from Gigafactory in Shanghai is assisting top-line growth," said Crisp Idea analyst Nanda Sai, who carries a 'buy' rating with a 12-month price target of $1,087.00 on Tesla stock.
"The Shanghai factory is ramping up production and commands a significant market share in the China EV market and the company remains focused on further improvements to increase production rates," he added.
