Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA): Citron Calls It A ‘Stupid Stock’

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Tesla Motors was a recommended short position of Citron Research a couple of years ago, but the firm later reversed its position. Now Citron has flip-flopped again, reverting back to its short recommendation on the EV manufacturer.

Citron tweets about Tesla (TSLA)

The folks at Citron revealed their reversed position on Tesla in a tweet. They like the automaker’s cars, but they don’t like its stock price.

In a statement to Benzinga, Citron Research said Tesla management pulled one of the oldest tricks in the history of Wall Street. The firm pointed out that earlier this year, Tesla lowered its delivery expectations. Then just now, the company ended up meeting the original schedule. In other words, Citron said Tesla pulled “the ultimate Wall St. trick of lowering a bar to just jump over it.”

Tesla (TSLA) reports strong increase in deliveries

This morning Tesla management said Model S deliveries increased 52% year over year in the second quarter, coming to 11,507. They had guided for between 10,000 and 11,000 vehicles sales during the quarter. The percentage of the increase trumps the increases of electric car sales by GM and Nissan by far, reports The Wall Street Journal.

During the first quarter, Tesla delivered 10,045 Model S sedans, and the automaker is still aiming to deliver a total of 55,000 vehicles during the current fiscal years. The company will have to make large strides in the third and fourth quarters in order to meet that goal, as it isn’t even halfway there.

BAML ups price target 177% but remains bearish

Interestingly, analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch raised their price target on Tesla Motors by 177%, pushing it up from $65 to $180 per share. They maintained their Underperform rating on the stock, however, adding that they still think the EV manufacturer’s shares are just far too expensive.

The BAML team thinks Tesla could be a successful niche player in the long term as demand for alternative fuel vehicles speeds up. For now though, they think regulators’ push for greater fuel efficiency will mainly be met with lighter, smaller vehicles that are turbocharged and run on gasoline.

The firm remains on a short list of firms that are bearish on Tesla, as many have price targets that are quite bullish. Tesla stock hit an intra-day high of almost $280 per share this morning but then started slipping. As of this writing, shares of Tesla Motors were up 2.49% to $275.86 per share.

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