Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) investors got something of a market reprieve this morning as the stock rose after a couple days of losses. The electric car maker’s stock jumped up by close to 4 percent this morning, with some of the credit for the rise going to a new report from Dougherty & Co.
The report, which was authored by analyst Andrea James, put a price target of $200 on Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), but it didn’t stop there. James said that she can see the stock hitting $300 in the future when the company is operating factories at full capacity.
Tesla smooth sailing
James made some changes to her estimates for Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), but left the price target on the company at $200, and reiterated a Buy rating on the company’s shares. The changes that the analyst made to the model resulted in expected sales being bumped up by 18 percent for the current quarter.
According to the report, Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) should be expected to actually earn a profit in this quarter, rather than the loss the analyst had been expecting before. If the company manages to show the kind of quarter that James predicts in this report, and the Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) market frenzy continues, the stock could indeed hit $200 in the next twelve months.
According to Andrea James, Tesla will have higher Average Selling Prices than expected in the third quarter, because of Tesla’s increased focus on delivering its own vehicles, and its downgrade of power train sales and other ancillary businesses.
Good News for Tesla
Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) will, according to the report, become a net taxpayer in 2014. That means that earnings per share will probably not grow as quickly next year, but it’s a good sign for Tesla. If the company can convince the market that it is financially stable, much of the Tesla bubble talk will prove baseless.
Tesla has come a long way in a short period of time, but analysts are still incredibly bullish on the firm’s future. If the stock does manage to hit $200 in the next twelve months, it will have defied much of the commentary surrounding it, and the those shorting the firm’s stock will be left recording huge losses.
If fortunes keep rising, James reckons Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares are headed for $300 if the company can get factories running at full capacity.
