Tesla shares tumbled even lower on Wednesday after a second downgrade over concerns that the stock is overvalued. After the correction, almost $3 billion was wiped out of the automaker’s market cap, and shares currently stand at their lowest level since June 16. In the last two sessions, the stock has performed the worst since Oct. 13.
Tesla facing its worst week
After Deutsche Bank, Pacific Crest also downgraded Tesla, raising concerns about the valuation. On Tuesday, Pacific Crest Securities lowered its rating on Tesla to Hold from Buy, stating that though the company remains one of the most innovative in the car industry, its stock valuation is getting “full.” The analysts said that sentiment on the company has turned to the opposite dramatically since six months ago. Oil prices are not scaring people any more, and there are fewer concerns about competition and less skepticism on opportunities in China. “We simply believe the stock price now more fully reflects these core attributes,” said the analysts.
On Tuesday, even though the stock was witnessing its biggest intra-day drop since February, Deutsche Bank analysts increased their price target to $280 from $245. However, the analysts did warn of insufficient risk/reward to maintain a Buy rating and thus downgraded the stock to Hold.
Just last week, shares of the EV manufacturer touched a 10-month high driven by record second-quarter deliveries and a hefty price target raise from Bank of America Merrill Lynch from $65 to $180. BAML analysts, however, maintained their Underperform rating on the stock, citing concerns about shares being overvalued.
Correction a buying opportunity?
This week can be dubbed the worst week for Tesla since December. Baird analysts believe that such a huge correction in the stock is giving an opportunity to investors to buy more Tesla shares. The analysts believe the stock is not fully reflecting the launch of the Model X by the end of this year. Further, there is no discounting of the Model 3, the planned mass-market Tesla EV.
Shares of the Palo Alto-based company have surged 23% over the past three months, compared to a 1.7% loss for the S&P 500 Index. Year to date, the EV maker’s stock has gained 15% compared to an 0.6% loss for the S&P. On Wednesday, Tesla shares closed down 4.82% at $254.96.
