The stock sell-off for EV major Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) continued on the first trading day of 2023 as the stock remains under pressure following another round of negative news.
The stock has already declined by more than 60% in the past year as investors have been concerned about macroeconomic headwinds affecting the demand for TSLA’s EVs and Musk getting distracted from his Tesla CEO duties by his acquisition of Twitter.
These fears proved to be correct on Monday as the company delivered 405,278 vehicles in Q4 of FY22. While these vehicle deliveries were up 31.3% year-over-year, they still lagged analysts’ consensus estimate of 427,000 units.
The disappointing Q4 deliveries have also prompted Wall Street analysts to slash their price targets for TSLA as they are now worried that reduced demand for its EVs could also result in an adverse impact on TSLA’s profit margins.
For Citi analyst Itay Michaeli, TSLA’s Q4 deliveries were not “entirely shocking,” and believes that the shares will continue to slide. The analyst pointed out that the decline in shares was due to a lack of visibility in its profit margins.
The analyst is sidelined on the stock with a Hold rating and a price target of $176.
JP Morgan analyst Ryan Brinkman slashed the price target on TSLA stock to $125 from $150 while reiterating a Sell.
Brinkman is of the opinion that TSLA’s recent move to offer incentives for delivery and price discounts suggests “lower pricing and margin.”
Analysts are cautiously optimistic about TSLA stock with a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on 18 Buys, 10 Holds, and two Sells.
