Tesla valuation estimates have widened dramatically from a per-share low of $195 to a high of $4,000, after CEO Elon Musk tweeted plans on Aug. 7 to explore taking the electric car company private prior to announcing on Aug. 24 that it would stay public after listening to top financial and legal advisors.
Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) definitively indicated in a website blog that Musk and his board of directors agreed to keep the stock publicly traded, despite short sellers on the prowl to torpedo the company’s valuation. Indeed, Tesla valuation estimates from traditional stock analysts and other experts now diverge substantially and leave investors able to find reasons to sell shamelessly or to buy boldly.
JPMorgan Chase slashed its 12-month Tesla price target on Aug. 20 to $195 from $308, equaling a 36.69 percent cut.
Brian A. Johnson, an automobile company analyst with Barclays, wrote in an Aug. 27 research note that he projects a 35 percent downside to $210 a share from Tesla’s current price, partly due to “cracks” in the credibility of Tesla’s leadership after the Aug. 7 tweet by Musk about taking the company private and his Aug. 24 reversal.
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Paul Dykewicz, www.pauldykewicz.com, is an accomplished, award-winning journalist who has written for Dow Jones, the Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, USA Today, the Journal of Commerce,Seeking Alpha, GuruFocus and other publications and websites. Paul is the editor of StockInvestor.com and DividendInvestor.com, a writer for both websites and a columnist. He further is the editorial director of Eagle Financial Publications in Washington, D.C., where he edits monthly investment newsletters, time-sensitive trading alerts, free e-letters and other investment reports. Paul previously served as business editor of Baltimore’s Daily Record newspaper. Paul also is the author of an inspirational book, “Holy Smokes! Golden Guidance from Notre Dame’s Championship Chaplain,” with a foreword by former national championship-winning football coach Lou Holtz.
