Recent weeks have been tumultuous for Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) stock as the electric vehicle (EV) maker experienced a mix of developments driving both buying and selling pressure.
Toward the end of September, TSLA shares were climbing on the excitement about self-driving developments and the hopes for a strong third-quarter delivery report.
Early October, however, brought a sharp slide for the stock; it turned out the EV maker shipped fewer vehicles than expected.
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Analysts have, as could be expected, also chipped in with their outlook for Tesla on the border between September and October.
Experts revise Tesla stock price target
October 2 witnessed an equal spread of opinions as RBC reiterated its previous ‘buy’ rating for TSLA stock, UBS maintained its ‘sell’ rating, and Truist Securities remained ‘neutral,’ albeit with a 12-month price target increase from $215 to $236.
Thursday, October 3, witnessed similar activity, though most of the day’s revisions were at least slightly bearish in the aftermath of the Wednesday report in which Tesla announced it had shipped 462,890 vehicles in Q3, and not 463,310 as was widely expected.
On the day, both HSBC and Guggenheim opted for a ‘sell’ rating with the former raising the price forecast from $118 to $124 and the latter decreasing it from $153 to $134.
Analysts at JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM) also proved bearish as the banking giant pointed toward the danger of Tesla not growing its vehicle volumes for the first time in its history.
Such an eventuality would be likely to cause many investors to reconsider their TSLA stock investments and, in turn, cause substantial selling pressure.
As a result, JPMorgan assigned a ‘sell’ rating to TSLA stock, though it slightly increased the price target from $115 to $130.
Finally, unlike its peers, Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) remained ‘neutral’ when it comes to Tesla shares and reiterated its price target of $230, perhaps showcasing that, despite the disappointing Q3 deliveries, there remains much optimism for the EV maker, particularly in the leadup to the ‘Robotaxi’ even on October 10.
Analysts forecast Tesla stock price for the coming 12 months
Zooming out beyond the most recent rating revisions, the outlook for Tesla stock remains middling.
TSLA shares are overall rated as ‘neutral’ on the stock analysis platform TradingView with 25 experts believing it to be a ‘buy,’ 20 staying ‘neutral,’ and 13 estimating that selling is the right call.
The average price target also foresees a slight 9.77% downside for Tesla stock price today of $242.62 and estimates TSLA will drop to $217.14.
Still, as highlighted by the highest represented price target of $400, Tesla is far from bereft of bulls. On the other hand, the lowest target represented on TradingView would see a massive 64.68% fall to $85, and the Street low forecasts an even greater collapse to $24.
What is next for Tesla stock?
Ultimately, the ‘Robotaxi’ event scheduled for October 10 could prove the actual make or break moment for Tesla.
If successful, it would help bolster the position that Tesla has evolved beyond being just a car company and is, by press time on October 4, a full-blown technology, robotics, and artificial intelligence (AI) stock.
Indeed, should a scenario be confirmed, TSLA could rocket to unprecedented heights driven by assumptions voiced by, for example. Wedbush’s Dan Ives when he called it the ‘most undervalued AI name in the market.’
On the other side, should the showing prove disappointing or should there be more delays – it is worth noting that the event was originally announced for August 8 – it is possible a shift may occur leading to Tesla being viewed as a major car company, but not a cutting edge technology giant.
Such an outcome could be particularly dangerous as the October 2 deliveries report has already generated some downward momentum for TSLA shares.
