Goldman Sachs analyst Allen Chang expects Pony AI Inc (NASDAQ: PONY) – an autonomous vehicles startup based out of Guangzhou, China to do exceptionally well in 2025.

He assumed coverage of the robotaxi stock today with a “buy” rating and $19.60 price target that indicates a potential 40% upside from here.

Chang is bullish on Pony AI stock as it’s committed to expanding its fleet of robotaxis from more than 250 at writing to about 1,000 by the end of next year.

Pony AI stock could warrant a higher multiple

Pony AI shares debuted on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange last month at a valuation of $13 each.  

Allen Chang is bullish on this self-driving vehicles company as it’s already making strides in China and could emerge as the country’s premier robotaxi service provider.

“Pony AI is the leader in L4 autonomous mobility in terms of fleet size, offering robotaxi and robotruck services across China,” he told clients in a research note on Monday.

Chang expects Pony AI stock to warrant a higher multiple as the company continues to commercialise its fully driverless robotaxis.  

PONY does not, however, pay a dividend at writing.

What US expansion may mean for PONY

Allen Chang expects expansion into the United States to unlock the next wave of growth for Pony AI that’s already accumulating customers on its mobile app in its home country.  

“According to road-testing reports, Pony AI’s vehicles exhibited safety metrics surpassing those of its local peers in China and outperforming human-driven cars,” he added in his recent report.

James Peng – the company’s chief executive sees the US debut as “hugely important” as well.

PONY will focus on diversifying its supply chain on top of research and development (R&D) under the Trump administration, he revealed in a recent interview with CNBC.

Pony AI stock is pushing to the upside following Goldman Sachs’ bullish note on Monday.

Pony AI Inc could hit 158% CAGR

Goldman Sachs expects Pony AI to aggressively expand its robotaxi fleet and grow its revenue at a compound annualised rate of 27% over the next three years.

But that’s a drop in the bucket considering its analysts expects PONY to then hit a CAGR of up to 158% between 2027 and 2030.

The self-driving vehicles company is committed to achieving profitability before the end of this decade.

Partnerships with automakers as well as logistics firms position Pony AI well for expansion and monetisation, the investment firm concluded.

Note that Allen Chang is not the only one who’s uber bullish on Pony AI stock.

Bank of America analysts also initiated the company’s shares with a “buy” rating last week and said continued fleet expansion will see them hit $18 over the next 12 months.

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The debate surrounding the true nature of cryptocurrency continues to evolve, with San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly weighing in on the matter.

In a recent interview, Daly argued that crypto should be considered its own distinct asset class, rather than being grouped alongside gold as is often the case.

Defining crypto: more than just a commodity

“I see crypto as a complicated thing, and the service we need to do for everyone is really unpack what we mean and call it what it is once we’ve done that,” Daly stated on Yahoo Finance’s Opening Bid podcast.

She emphasized that crypto could serve multiple roles—a currency, a medium of exchange, or an asset that can appreciate or depreciate in value—and that these terms require clear definition.

“So I don’t think of it as like gold,” Daly added.

It has properties like gold sometimes, but I don’t think of it like that.

Contrasting views within the Fed

Daly’s perspective presents a slight departure from the views of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who earlier this month energized the crypto community with his comments on bitcoin.

Powell described bitcoin as a “speculative asset,” comparing it to virtual or digital gold.

“People are not using it as a form of payment or as a store of value,” Powell said at the New York Times DealBook conference.

It’s highly volatile. It’s not a competitor for the dollar; it’s really a competitor for gold.

The road to currency status

Echoing Powell’s sentiment, Daly stressed that crypto is not yet ready to function as a currency, despite the aspirations of many crypto enthusiasts.

“The property it needs is that it has to grow as the economy grows,” Daly explained.

So its value doesn’t change just because people want it. So when more people want a dollar bill, the dollar bill doesn’t rise in value. What causes the dollar to fluctuate is the economy and how fast our growth is relative to other countries. So that is a property it will have to perfect for it to be a currency.

Crypto’s market momentum despite regulatory uncertainty

While the path to official recognition as a currency by Congress remains uncertain, the momentum behind various digital assets continues to build.

Bitcoin has seen significant gains since Donald Trump’s election on November 5, breaking through the $100,000 mark for the first time on December 4.

Bitcoin prices have risen 38% since Election Day and are 106% higher this year.

Crypto-linked stocks like Coinbase (COIN) and Robinhood (HOOD) have also seen impressive growth.

Institutional adoption and the Trump factor

The warming sentiment towards crypto is also reflected in recent investments from institutional players that typically favor traditional assets.

In May, Wisconsin’s pension fund purchased over $160 million in bitcoin shares, signaling growing acceptance from traditional financial players.

Furthermore, MicroStrategy (MSTR), led by Michael Saylor, has continued its aggressive acquisition of bitcoin.

The new Trump administration’s appointment of venture capitalist David Sacks as a crypto czar may pave the way for new initiatives, including a potential bitcoin reserve.

“Just the fact that there would even be someone who would be focused on making the United States a leader in crypto, bitcoin mining, and other areas President Trump has talked about is a sea change,” Benchmark Company analyst Mark Palmer said on Opening Bid.

“We assume in our analysis [that] the price of bitcoin will reach $225,000 by the end of 2026.”

He also emphasized that “The fact that we are seeing increased institutional adoption of bitcoin is key here.”

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The USD/CNY exchange rate held steady this week in a low-volume environment because of the New Year celebrations. The renminbi traded at 7.3000 on Tuesday morning, its lowest level since November 2023. It has dropped in the last 13 consecutive weeks and is slowly approaching its lowest level on record.

Renminbi amid slow China growth

The renminbi has remained under pressure this year as concerns about the Chinese economy continued. 

Data released by Beijing’s authority showed that the economy continued to slow down in 2024. It expanded by 4.6% in the third quarter, helped by the aggregate demand. That was a slower growth rate compared to the second quarter’s growth rate of 4.7% and Q1’s 5.3%.

Beijing was forced to implement large stimulus measures to hit the 5% growth target. Some of these measures, including the $1.4 trillion support to states, will likely take time to affect the economy. 

Analysts believe that China will not hit the 5.0% target. Goldman Sachs predicts that the economy will grow by 4.9% this year, while most other banks anticipate the economy growing by between 4.6% and 4.9%.

Economic data released on Tuesday showed that China’s economy continued to normalize. The manufacturing PMI dropped slightly from 50.3 in November to 50.1 in December, missing the estimated 50.3. 

The non-manufacturing PMI rose from 50.0 to 52.2, higher than the median estimate of 50.2, while the composite figure rose from 50.8 to 52.2. 

These numbers indicate that the economy is doing relatively well, as figures of 50 and above indicate expansion. 

The USD/CNY exchange rate has risen as concerns about the upcoming trade war between the US and China continued. Donald Trump pledged to be tough on China and appointed hawks like Marco Rubio and Tim Walz in key positions. He has also hinted that he will add over 20% tariffs on Chinese goods. 

Trump is mostly concerned about the growing trade deficit between the US and China. As such, he believes that making Chinese goods more expensive will encourage manufacturing back home, an impossible situation. 

China will always be competitive because of its advanced manufacturing skills and low costs. As such, these tariffs will hurt Americans more by raising their prices.

The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) has maintained a highly dovish tone as it slashed interest rates and flooded the economy with money. It left rates unchanged this month to keep ammunition for future pressure. It maintained rates steady at 2% and then withdrew $158 billion from the financial market.

USD/CNY technical analysis

The USD/CNY pair has also rallied because of the strong US dollar, which has soared to its highest level since November 6. It has moved above the key resistance level at 7.2768, its highest level on July 8.

The pair has remained above all moving averages, while the Relative Strength Index (RSI) has drifted upwards and is nearing the overbought level of 70. Therefore, the path of least resistance for the renminbi is downwards. The next point to watch is the all-time low of 7.3450.

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A Jeju Air flight tragically crashed on Sunday at Muan International Airport, resulting in the deaths of 179 people.

Only two survivors were found in the wreckage. The exact cause of the crash is still under investigation. The victims ranged in age from 3 to 78.

The plane that crashed in southwestern South Korea was a Boeing 737-800.

Here are some facts about the model you should know.

Is Boeing 737-800 safe?

In over 25 years of service, the Boeing 737-800 variant, has been involved in around 17 accidents resulting in 1,100 fatalities, according to data from the Aviation Safety Network.

Despite this, the crash rate is considered relatively low the thousands of units produced and millions of flights completed.

Most fatal accidents involving the 737-800 have been largely attributed to human error.

Recent Boeing 737-800 accidents

One of the most unfortunate accidents involving the aircraft was the crash in China in 2022.

A China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800, carrying 132 people, crashed in a forested hillside in Guangxi province, southern China.

All the passengers died in the accident.

The flight was en route from Kunming to Guangzhou when it plunged to the ground and caught fire.

China Eastern Airlines grounded all its 737-800 after the incident.

Another deadly accident occurred in 2020.

In 2020, A Ukrainian airliner, a Boeing 737-800, crashed near Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport, killing all 176 people on board, including passengers and crew.

The flight, which had mostly Iranian nationals, crashed shortly after takeoff near Parand, a suburb southwest of Tehran.

In 2016, A Boeing 737-800 passenger jet operated by the low-cost airline FlyDubai crashed while attempting to land in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don.

All 62 people on board, 55 passengers, and seven crew members died in the accident.

Boeing 737-800: history

The Boeing 737-800 is part of the “next generation” models in the 737 series, first launched in 1993.

The 800 variant, which debuted in 1997, became the best-selling version of that generation, with a maximum capacity of 189 passengers.

The 737-800, along with its next-generation siblings, was eventually replaced by the 737 Max, which featured larger engines and other upgrades.

However, design flaws in the Max led to two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019, which resulted in 346 deaths.

These crashes sparked Boeing’s largest crisis, leading to the grounding of the entire 737 Max fleet until the issues were rectified.

One of the most used planes

The 737-800 makes up around 15% of the global passenger aircraft fleet, with approximately 4,400 planes in service, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.

The aircraft is widely used by over 180 airlines worldwide, including major carriers like American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta, Ryanair, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, and KLM.

According to Cirium data, commercial airlines operated the Boeing 737-800 on nearly 5.9 million flights in 2024, with over 6.2 million scheduled through November 2025.

American Airlines is the largest operator, with 303 737-800s in service, followed by Irish budget carrier Ryanair with 205 and Southwest Airlines with 204.

Age of Boeing 737-800s

The age of the global fleet of Boeing 737-800 planes ranges from about 5 to over 27 years.

A well-maintained 737-800 can typically fly for 20 to 30 years or even longer.

The plane involved in the recent crash was 15 years old, according to flight tracking site Flightradar24.

Ryanair was the first airline to operate this aircraft, which was leased to Jeju Air in 2017 by SMBC Aviation Capital, according to Cirium.

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China’s factory activity showed signs of sustained expansion in December, with the official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) remaining above the critical 50-point threshold for the third consecutive month.

The PMI stood at 50.1 in December, slightly down from 50.3 in November, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

This was also below the estimates from economists.

The slowdown in factory activity was due to a decline in the output component, Gabriel Ng from Capital Economics said in a note.

He also mentioned that the output price component fell, indicating ongoing downward pressure on prices.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below 50 signals contraction.

This marks a continuation of the country’s recovery, with expanding economic activity bolstered by macroeconomic policies and seasonal factors.

What drove the expansion?

Zhao Qinghe, a senior statistician at the NBS, attributed the sustained expansion to the combined effects of macroeconomic policies, which have been evident since October.

He highlighted that policies encouraging the replacement of old consumer goods and the approach of traditional festivals helped accelerate growth in key sectors.

In addition to the manufacturing PMI, China’s non-manufacturing PMI, which tracks the service and construction sectors, saw notable expansion, rising to 52.2 in December, up from 50 in November.

This increase points to stronger activity in these sectors, with fiscal support boosting infrastructure spending and easing pressure on construction projects.

However, while domestic demand is expanding, there are challenges. Some industrial enterprises are facing intensified competition and declining profitability, as noted by an NBS spokesperson.

Exports remain a concern for China

Within the manufacturing PMI, the subindex for new export orders rose slightly to 48.3 in December, compared with 48.1 in November.

Despite the overall growth in domestic demand, exports remain under pressure due to external uncertainties.

The export orders index rose to its highest level in four months, likely driven by U.S. importers trying to beat potential higher tariffs that incoming US President Donald Trump might impose on Chinese goods, according to Gabriel Ng.

Beijing is expected to implement more targeted fiscal stimulus in response to Trump’s tariffs in the coming year, with reports suggesting that the country will increase fiscal spending to support economic growth.

The construction sector showed resilience, with the construction subindex rising to 53.2 in December, up from 49.7 in November.

While non-manufacturing sectors have demonstrated resilience, analysts remain cautious about the sustainability of the recovery.

China’s official composite PMI, which combines both manufacturing and non-manufacturing activity, stood at 52.2 in December, improving from 50.8 in November.

This improvement reflects an overall recovery, but uncertainties remain, particularly regarding international tensions and potential tariff increases, especially with the looming inauguration of Donald Trump in January.

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