Tesla gets ninth price target hike since June deliveries

Another day… another price target hike for Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA). Since its June delivery report last weekend, nine Wall Street firms have raised their price target on the EV giant. Today it was Jefferies analysts’ turn.

The analysts lifted their price target to $265 from $185, although the new price target suggests about 3% downside from Friday’s close of $274.43. A ‘Hold’ rating was maintained, amid Jefferies’ neutral stance on the stock.

“We join a consensus view that Q2 will be a trough in auto gross margin,” the analysts commented.

The firm sees Q2 revenue of $24.7 billion, 6% above Q1 and +46% year-over-year. They raised FY2023 revenue estimates by 3% and EPS by 5%, but remain below the consensus by 1% and 5%, respectively. For FY2024, revenue was maintained and EPS was raised by 3%, which is 5% below consensus on both numbers.

On the stock, the analysts see shares basically stuck in the mud for the remainder of the year as auto earnings alone are unlikely to re-rate multiples. They add that the investment case is still a work in progress, contingent upon the success of FSD (Full Self-Driving) technology and stationary storage.