On Wednesday, Canaccord Genuity maintained a Buy rating on shares of Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) with a price target of $254.00. Tesla's second-quarter earnings for 2024 were described as largely anticipated following the delivery announcement earlier in the month.
The company's automotive gross margins came in lower than expected, which was attributed to $622 million in restructuring costs. While Tesla did see a meaningful increase in Full Self-Driving (FSD) take rates following recent price reductions, detailed metrics were not disclosed.
The firm highlighted the upcoming Robotaxi day, scheduled for October 10, 2024, as a significant upcoming event. This event is expected to provide more information about Tesla's robotaxi vehicle and service offerings. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, expressed confidence in achieving unsupervised FSD later this year or the next, which is sooner than Canaccord Genuity had anticipated.
Musk also addressed regulatory concerns by suggesting that if Tesla's FSD can surpass human mean time between failures, regulators should not impede its progress.
Canaccord Genuity expressed a more conservative view on the regulatory landscape for Tesla's FSD technology, acknowledging that their perspective might be overly cautious. The firm also noted concerns about the predictability, transparency, and cost associated with Tesla's comprehensive approach to FSD technology.
Looking ahead, the firm pointed to the potential introduction of new, more affordable Tesla models expected to begin production in the first half of 2025 as another catalyst for the company. The reiterated Buy rating and price target are based on 28 times Canaccord Genuity's estimated non-GAAP earnings per share for Tesla in 2026.
In other recent news, Tesla and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL), two tech giants, have experienced a downturn in their shares following their recent earnings announcements. Tesla's shares fell by 8% due to the company's lowest profit margin in over five years, missing second-quarter earnings expectations.
Alphabet, despite surpassing revenue and profit forecasts, saw its shares decline by 3.1% due to concerns about slower advertising growth and high capital expenditures.
Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Tesla from Buy to Neutral but raised the price target for Tesla shares to $245. The firm noted Tesla's potential for growth, citing factors such as the anticipated benefits from its Full Self-Driving software and the forthcoming RoboTaxi segment. However, Roth/MKM maintained a Neutral rating for Tesla, highlighting challenges such as the need for vehicle discounting to drive sales volumes.
Despite falling short of Wall Street's expectations, only one out of 50 analysts reduced their rating on Tesla's stock, according to LSEG data. Tesla's management remains committed to the development of unsupervised Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS) for a future RoboTaxi service, a project that has drawn both optimism and skepticism from various analysts. These are the recent developments in the investment landscape.
InvestingPro Insights
As Tesla navigates the challenges and opportunities ahead, real-time financial metrics and expert analysis provide a clearer picture of its market position. According to InvestingPro data, Tesla holds an impressive market cap of $785.75 billion, indicating its substantial footprint in the automobile industry.
Despite concerns over automotive gross margins, Tesla's P/E ratio stands at 57.82, reflecting a premium that investors are willing to pay for its growth potential. Furthermore, the company's revenue growth over the last twelve months as of Q1 2024 is reported at 10.12%, showcasing its robust performance despite the market's volatility.
InvestingPro Tips reveal that Tesla is a company with more cash than debt, a reassuring sign of financial health for investors. Moreover, 14 analysts have revised their earnings upwards for the upcoming period, suggesting a positive outlook on the company's profitability.
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