Tesla price target lowered to $200 from $218 at Deutsche Bank

Deutsche Bank lowered the firm’s price target on Tesla to $200 from $218 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The analyst cut Q1 estimates again for Tesla to reflect weaker than expected China sales and the company’s recent plan to cut production in the region. For Q1, the firm now expects 414,000 deliveries, down from 427,000 units, due to weaker than expected sales in China in the last few weeks of March. Deutsche also cut its full year deliveries estimate to 1.9M units, below the consensus of 2.06M, which represents “only” mid-single digit growth for the year. It continues to see pressure on Tesla’s margins and earnings, as the company already announced deep price cuts in both China and Europe earlier in the quarter, and made further moderate price adjustments in February to incentivize vehicle purchases. While Tesla announced it will raise prices in the U.S. and China effective April, this is an attempt to boost sales in March, rather than a sign of solid demand, Deutsche Bank contends.