After opening higher by 1.4% on Tuesday, shares of Tesla(NASDAQ:TSLA) have taken a turn. TSLA stock is down 0.5% today, despite a pair of analyst price-target hikes. However, if these price targets come to fruition, today’s action will be a distant memory.
Argus Researchupped its target to $1,313 from $1,010.Wedbush’s Dan Ives also raised his price target, upping it to $1,400 from $1,100.
Ives argues that Tesla’s China business could increase the stock price by another $400 per share in 2022. Furthermore, he estimates that Tesla will deliver between 1.4 million and 1.5 million vehicles next year. However, there could be even more upside. Ives has a bull-case price target of $1,800 per share. If achieved, it would represent about 66% upside in TSLA stock from current levels.
According to Ives, “Musk & Co. have navigated the chip supply shortages better than any automaker globally over the last six months, which is why Tesla is in a clear position of strength heading into 2022 with an inflection point year ahead.”
Further, he says there are three main catalysts for a higher stock price this year: “By the end of 2022 Tesla will have the capacity for overall ~2 million units annually from roughly 1 million today … Austin has a clear path to launching its key flagship US factory (and HQ) in early 2022 … [Tesla can] further expand its auto [gross margins] and profitability profile over the next 12 to 18 months.”
The latest analyst actions aren’t the only bullish calls this month. A few weeks ago, New Street analyst Pierre Ferraguincreased his price target from $1,298 to a Street-high $1,580. The bullish stance comes from high expectations for the company’s Shanghai plant, believing it will turnout 700,000 vehicles annually. Additionally, the analyst believes Tesla will surpass its delivery estimate of 266,000 units in the fourth quarter.
TSLA Stock This Year
So far for the year, TSLA stock is up about 53%. While that’s vastly better than Nio(NYSE:NIO) and several of the newcomers in the EV space, Tesla’s performance lags Ford(NYSE:F) and Lucid Motors(NASDAQ:LCID), which are up 137% and 275% on the year, respectively.
While shares are down slightly on the day now, TSLA stock is still up more than 20% from last week’s low. The rally helped the company regain its $1 trillion market capitalization, by far the largest in the auto sector.