Tesla Gets Second $1000 Price Target

Tesla (TSLA) shares were volatile on Friday, opening the session in negative territory before rising; following its disappointing earnings results even as analysts continue to be bullish on the electric vehicle maker.

Argus Research’s Bill Selesky on Friday boosted his Tesla price target by 30% to $1,010 per share from $777; while reiterating his buy rating on the stock.

“We also believe that Tesla is well positioned to expand in the Chinese market and further believe that the incoming Biden Administration will offer rebates and new tax incentives to encourage consumers to buy EVs, which we think favors Tesla versus all the rest,” Selesky said.

Argus is the second analyst firm to give Tesla a price target over $1,000, following Oppenheimer; which has a $1,036 price target on the company.

Tesla shares were up 0.4% to $838.35 at last check in morning trading.

The stock has soared more than 900% since the beginning of last year.

Tesla reported an adjusted fourth-quarter profit of 80 cents a share after the closing bell on Wednesday, falling short of analysts’ forecasts and well below year-earlier, pre-pandemic results. While it was the sixth straight profitable quarter for Tesla; it was also the first time the company missed Wall Street’s per-share earnings estimates since July 2019.

Receiving particular scrutiny from analysts and investors were operating margins; which shrank to 5.4% in the fourth quarter, down from 9.2% in the July-September quarter.

“I don’t view Tesla as an auto company, I never have, I view it as a disruptive technology company,” Wedbush Securities’ chief equity strategist Dan Ives said. “I think that’s why it’s such an emotional bull-bear thesis.”

Ives, who recently noted that “it’s a Tesla world, and everyone else is paying rent,” expects that Tesla will continue to dominate the EV world, even as other carmakers nip at its heels. “It’s a big enough ocean for more than one boat,” he said.