Tesla gets upgrade from Baird as EV maker sets ‘lofty’ product targets
Tesla could see big gains over the coming years if the automotive company can meet its “lofty” market capitalization and product goals, Baird said Friday in a note to clients. The firm upgraded the Elon Musk-led company to outperform from neutral. It raised its price target for the electric-vehicle maker to $548 from $320, implying 31.5% upside. “Focus has increasingly shifted to the future for TSLA,” Baird analyst Ben Kallo said in the note. “The road ahead is chock-full of catalysts.” In September, Tesla released a series of product and market capitalization milestones for its business over the next decade tied to Musk’s nearly $1 trillion pay package . Under the proposal, the EV maker aims to boost its valuation nearly eightfold to more than $8 trillion and hit $400 billion in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA. The company could chase those gains by rolling out a variety of products in its pipeline, in addition to increasing its production capacity, according to Baird. “We continue to believe increased production capacity and new product introductions provide a steady cadence of upcoming catalysts,” Kallo wrote. The firm’s planned expansions of its existing businesses, including its robotaxi service and its Optimus humanoid robots, could also boost its valuation. “Ultimately, recurring revenue should become a larger part of the TSLA story, whether it is related to software/data or technology to drive a Robotaxi service,” Kallo said in the note. Tesla shares rose roughly 1% in premarket trading following the analysts’ upgrade. Baird’s call marks one of 23 buy or strong buy ratings for Tesla, LSEG data shows. Wall Street is largely divided on the EV maker’s rating, with nearly half of all analysts advising investors to hold the stock.
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