Tesla’s price target raised as trend toward electric vehicles to accelerate

Tesla’s price target was raised by more than $100 at Canaccord Genuity, which wrote that the trend toward electric vehicles “will only accelerate in 2020”.

The target was raised to $515 from $375, one of the highest on Wall Street and near the Street-high view of $530. The average price target is about $302, according to Bloomberg data.

The move comes ahead of Tesla reporting fourth-quarter delivery numbers next week. Canaccord analyst Jed Dorsheimer, who reiterated a buy rating on the stock, expects the data will validate the trend of higher electric-vehicle adoption.

Delivery of units

“While bears have feared demand issues as a function of tax credit expiration for Tesla, we suspect a solid fourth quarter combined with the robust third quarter should put these fears to rest,” he wrote to clients. He expects Tesla will report nearly 369,000 units delivered over 2019, above the company’s own guidance of 360,000.

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Shares of Tesla rose 1.7 per cent in pre-market trading. The stock gained about 26 per cent over the course of 2019 and recently surged to record levels.

Canaccord was not the only firm to start the new year by expressing optimism about Tesla's 2020 delivery prospects. JMP Securities wrote that "unit consensus expectations for this year are oddly low". Analyst Joseph Osha speculated that the consensus didn't reflect a contribution from Tesla's Shanghai facility. – Bloomberg