Shares of U.S. automaker General Motors (GM) are getting a lift on Thursday after Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas said the auto maker has the potential to unlock "sum of parts value."

UP BIG SINCE MAY LOWS: GM is up a whopping 22% since late May when it hit its year-to-date low of $31.92 per share. Shares are up about 11.4% since January. The move down in May coincided with a letter from activist investor Greenlight Capital, saying that "GM's board of directors has been unwilling to take the steps Greenlight believes are necessary to unlock billions of dollars of shareholder value either by embracing Greenlight's plan to split the company's common stock into two classes of common equity or by putting forth any other plan to help fix the company's significant valuation problem." Greenlight Capital, run by famed investor David Einhorn, sent the letter prior to GM's annual shareholder meeting in June, urging investors to vote for the hedge fund's plan and director nominees. The plan was ultimately rejected by shareholders along with the Greenlight nominees. Greenlight holds a 3.6% stake in General Motors.

UNLOCK SUM OF PARTS VALUE: Somewhat in-line with Greenlight's thesis, Jonas pointed out in his report today that Morgan Stanley has a $50 bull case for GM shares, "underpinned by unlocking sum of parts value... Implied in this scenario are strategic moves to seed a separate auto tech portfolio and a fundamental repositioning of Cadillac as a 'captive Tesla.' The remaining businesses could generate substantial cash flow that could be used to restructure/exit loss-making passenger car operations," said Jonas and his team.

PRICE ACTION: Shares of General Motors are outperforming a tepid broader market today, up 1.67% to $38.85 per share.