By Senad Karaahmetovic
Shares of Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) are down nearly 1.5% in pre-market Thursday after several analysts reflected on the company’s prospects.
Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas slashed the price target to $1,150 per share from $1,200 to reflect slowing growth and higher credit risk.
Credit Suisse analyst Dan Levy reiterated an Outperform rating and a $1,000 per share price target despite seeing a “challenged” Q2 setup.
“We are below consensus into 2Q22 EPS for Tesla (Credit Suisse $1.31 vs. consensus $1.86), likely reflecting below-consensus margins, as well as a Bitcoin impairment. Margins and the path to 2H volume growth will likely be the primary areas of focus,” Levy said in a client note.
His three key themes going into the earnings are:
- Shanghai shutdown to pressure 2Q margin;
- Berlin + Austin add some volume, but progress remains slower-than-hoped; and
- Yet 2H volume ramp + 2023 volume expected to be attractive.
Finally, Truist analyst William Stein initiated research coverage on Tesla with a Buy rating and a $1,000 per share price target.
The analyst expects Tesla to top production estimates in the near term and stay on the road to deliver 10 million EV units annually by 2030.
“Tesla’s development has been a remarkable success story. Overcoming obstacles in traditional, established, automotive & energy industries, Tesla developed innovative technology, built scale, and achieved industry-leading profitability. Still, we believe the company’s best days, in terms of volume production, product innovation, and, especially, AI innovations, are still down the road,” Stein wrote in an initiation note.
Specifically, the analyst expects:
- TSLA’s unit production share to capture the pole position among automotive manufacturers;
- AI innovations to turbo-charge TSLA's core EV growth; and
- TSLA’s OPM to expand beyond investors current expectations.