After a major stock price surge over the past few weeks following higher than expected deliveries and an investment by Tencent, Tesla is again reaching new highs today after a new note from research firm Piper Jaffray.
Tesla’s stock is up 2% at a new high of $308 in pre-market trading this morning after Piper’s note set a new price target of $368 per share – the highest price target for Tesla by any major Wall Street firm.
Alex Potter, lead Tesla analyst for Piper Jaffray, said that “in the minds of its customers, employees, and shareholders, Tesla isn’t just another company,” and added (via CNBC):
“We sympathize with bears — but their (arguably rational) arguments probably won’t matter. In many ways, TSLA seems to play by its own rules. The company burns through cash at a rate that better-established companies would likely be crucified for … Tesla’s production timelines are unreasonably fast. … Yet, because of its superior products, loyal shareholders, and inspiring mission, TSLA remains unscathed.”
He increased the firm’s price target from $223 to $368. Potter admits that analysts need to use a “creative” valuation methodology in order to get to those prices, but he highlights that Tesla is a “story stock”.
The biggest contributor is the firm’s increased confidence in Tesla delivering the Model 3 on time in 2017. Potter says that after recently “traveling with” people from Tesla’s investor relations team, he is now “more convinced” that the automaker will bring the vehicle to market in 2017. Production is set for July.
The firms sees Tesla making $11 billion in revenue this year and $19 billion in 2018 – up from 7 billion last year.
As usual, we suggest taking analyst notes with a grain of salt. While it’s clear that they have the ability to move the market with Tesla reaching new highs this morning after Piper’s note, they don’t always have great track records. Potter has only been covering Tesla since last year:
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