What Happened?
Shares of electric vehicle pioneer Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) jumped 3.9% in the afternoon session after it received a wave of positive commentary from Wall Street analysts and upbeat forecasts for third-quarter vehicle deliveries.
Wolfe Research stated that the electric vehicle maker's Q3 deliveries could reach between 465,000 and 470,000 units, topping consensus estimates of 445,000. The firm partly attributed the potential lift in volume to consumers speeding up purchases before a $7,500 federal EV tax credit expired.
Adding to the positive sentiment, Piper Sandler's Alexander Potter raised his price target to $500 from $400, highlighting Tesla's strength in artificial intelligence. Similarly, Baird analyst Ben Kallo upgraded the stock to a “Buy.” One prominent analyst, Dan Ives, forecasted that the company's march to a $2 trillion valuation had begun, driven by opportunities in AI and autonomous Robotaxis.
The shares closed the day at $442.77, up 4% from previous close.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
Tesla’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 46 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 2 days ago when the stock gained 3.7% after the company received approval to begin testing its autonomous robotaxis in Arizona and Piper Sandler raised its price target on the stock.
This approval marked the third state, after Texas and Nevada, where the electric vehicle maker could test its self-driving cars. The move fueled investor optimism about the company's long-term growth in autonomous driving.
Adding to the positive sentiment, Piper Sandler lifted its price target on Tesla to $500 from $400, citing increased confidence in the company's autonomous vehicle and robotics positioning. The brokerage noted the new target reflected a higher valuation multiple. This news resonated with bullish analysts like Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities, who previously stated that the robotaxi business could add as much as $1 trillion to Tesla's market cap.
Tesla is up 16.7% since the beginning of the year, and at $442.55 per share, it is trading close to its 52-week high of $479.86 from December 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Tesla’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $3,424.
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