Tesla Bears Pile On as Citi Is Latest to Lower Target

Tesla
A trailer full of Teslas preparing to be transported. (Spencer Platt/Bloomberg News)

Another analyst is cutting his price target for Tesla Inc. after the electric car maker on May 21 fell to the lowest since December 2016.

Citigroup analyst Itay Michaeli lowered his price target to $191 from $238, highlighting 鈥渘egatively skewed鈥 risks and lingering demand and cash flow concerns. Tesla fell for a sixth day in early trading May 22, shedding as much as 3% to $199. Shares closed down 0.1% at $205.08 on May 21 after slipping below $200 during the day.

Tesla鈥檚 $2.4 billion capital raise this month was 鈥渁 positive step but won鈥檛 necessarily get the balance sheet out of the woods鈥 if the company can鈥檛 meet free cash flow targets, Michaeli wrote. 鈥淎n automaker鈥檚 balance sheet is always subject to the confidence 鈥榮piral鈥 risk,鈥 and Tesla must provide a 鈥渕ore formal鈥 outlook 鈥 good or bad 鈥 soon.

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Michaeli said Tesla may have erred by 鈥渆xternally targeting level-5/urban robo-taxis next year, a claim that ultimately hurt credibility,鈥 though the company鈥檚 AV pivot 鈥渁ligns well鈥 with Citi鈥檚 long-term views about the industry.

Earlier this week, Tesla sustained multiple blows at the hands of Wall Street analysts.

Morgan Stanley slashed its worse-case scenario for the share price to just more than $10 over concern Tesla has saturated the electric car market. Robert W. Baird & Co.鈥檚 longtime Tesla bull, Ben Kallo, said it may take several months for the negative narrative surrounding the carmaker to shift, and he cut his price target to $340 from $400. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives wrote that Tesla faces a 鈥淜ilimanjaro-like uphill climb鈥 to hit targets for profitability in the second half of the year. He cast doubt on underlying demand for the company鈥檚 first mass-produced vehicle, the Model 3 sedan, and cut his price target to $230.

Wall Street wasn鈥檛 alone in throwing shade on Tesla. On May 22, Consumer Reports said Tesla Autopilot poses safety issues, reporting that the Model 3 sedan in its vehicle text fleet shifts lanes in ways that a safe human driver wouldn鈥檛.