It hasn’t exactly been great for electric vehicle stock Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) lately. And Tesla stock is down once again, albeit fractionally, after some new troubles emerged and an analyst reconsidered position. There’s more trouble here than declining deliveries that we were already warned about, if you believe the bears out there.
The word from Ryan Brinkman, JPMorgan analyst, is more of what Brinkman has been saying all along. Brinkman maintained his Underweight rating, which has been ongoing for the past three years. However, Brinkman also hiked his price target on Tesla, going from $120 to $135, while also resetting his current timeline to actually achieve the target to December 2024. Brinkman pointed out that the delivery numbers Tesla posted were indeed a disappointment, but the volume weakness also comes with a steady decline in sale prices. Not only is Tesla selling fewer cars, they’re selling them for less, which is a double whammy to the bottom line.
Meanwhile, Musk is also facing new legal troubles, as a U.S. court judge declared Musk would face most of a lawsuit around disclosure of his Twitter purchase, in which he declared his stake 11 days past that required by Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Yet Tesla isn’t taking this lying down. It’s recently rolled out a new feature that will allow drivers to find out when apps are requesting the vehicle’s location. Dubbed “Location Sharing,” the new tool basically lets drivers know when their car is being tracked. It’s part of a larger initiative at Tesla known as “Privacy First,” and gives drivers that much more control over their overall experience.
Is Tesla Stock a Good Buy Right Now?
Despite Brinkman’s ongoing bearishness, plenty of analysts still back Tesla. Tesla stock is currently rated a Moderate Buy by analyst consensus, including 12 Buy ratings, 12 Hold and four Sell. Further, Tesla stock offers investors a 9.24% upside potential, thanks to the average price target of $272.38.
