Among the stocks most bought on our index in this first part of 2022 there is undoubtedly Stellantis which on January 13 managed to score a + 3.4% which projected it to new all-time highs above 19 euros. The fourth largest automotive group in the world, born a year ago from the merger between FCA and PSA, with a market cap of over 59 billion euros, it is in second place among the top most capitalized companies in Piazza Affari. The first, Enel, is now only 10 billion euros.
With a performance of over 55% in 2021, Stellantis outperformed both the Ftse Mib and the EuroStoxx 600 Automobiles and Parts index which ended the year with a 35% rise.
Overtaking in sight?
The clear majority of analysts interviewed by Bloomberg have a “Buy” view (86.7%), while 10% say they are “Hold” and only 3.3% are sell. The 12-month average target price is € 23.3, with a potential return of 23% from current prices. If we were to project Stellantis to the average target of analysts, the auto group led by Carlos Tavares would take away from Enel the prize for the highest title of Piazza Affari (assuming that Enel in the meantime is experiencing another year stingy with satisfactions on the stock market, like the one just ended) .
Among the most convinced buy on Enel stand out those of Deutsche Bank and Kepler Cheuvreux which indicate a target price of as much as 30 euros.
Looking at the opinions of the other major investment banks, Goldman Sachs has updated the “Buy” estimates and has a target price of 26 euros. JP Morgan remains with a “Buy” rating on the share with a target price of € 27. Jefferies analysts also raised the price target from € 22-26 per share to € 25-29.
The side of the alliance with Amazon
On the occasion of the CES 2022 in Las VegasEnded a few days ago, Stellantis and Amazon announced a series of multi-year, global agreements that promise to revolutionize the driving experience for millions of Stellantis customers. The agreement in question sees as a first innovation the development of the STLA SmartCockpit software on all models of the Stellantis group starting from 2024 and this will allow the creation of a personalized and intuitive experience on board the vehicle. The applications of artificial intelligence, also thanks to the voice assistance provided by Alexa, will improve navigation, vehicle maintenance, the use of e-commerce platforms, and users will also be able to monitor their homes once in travel thanks to integration with Amazon’s leading security and smart home services. The new agreement will facilitate the transition of the mobility sector towards a sustainable future, also thanks to the efficient use of software.
Forced electrification
Stellantis’ strategy towards total electrification continues. Last week Chrysler unveiled its first all-electric car and now another move has come from Stellantis. From now on, for private customers, the vans and minivans of the brands controlled by the group can only be purchased in the electric version. In the company notes Citroën and Peugeot speak generically of a step towards electrification and the abandonment of engines that will no longer be convenient in the future. On the contrary, Opel has announced that by 2024 all its models will have an electric version and from 2028 it will only sell electric cars in Europe.
One of the problems facing the conglomerate led by CEO Carlos Tavares will be to ensure the full employment of its factories in Europe, as they currently work far below their production capacities. In Europe, Stellantis has 25 assembly plants and over 220,000 employees, but the biggest problems concern its 7 production sites in Italy, which have already been underutilized since 2019, with an average utilization rate of less than 60%. In this regard, it is hoped that on the occasion of the presentation of the strategic plans, next March 1st, the CEO will express himself in this regard by proposing solutions to the problem of European factories.
Technical analysis: the next step is resistance at 20 euros
Stellantis’ uptrend continues. In particular, after the test of the bullish trendline built from the lows of March 2020 and confirmed in December of last year, the stock found new strength, with an increase of over 14% in the last 2 weeks alone. In the event of an upward continuation, the next area of resistance to overcome is the psychological one of 20 euros, a level that coincides with the all-time highs achieved at the beginning of 2018. On the contrary, in the event of short-term weakness, one can expect prices to return to the support levels previously at 17.30 euros, with a deeper target at 15.50 euros. To confirm the current trend, prices are quoted above the main 50 and 200 period moving averages, with volumes and volatility increasing in the last few sessions.