Shares of Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock closed higher by over 4% today despite three price target reductions from investment firms this week. The most recent reduction comes from Credit Suisse analyst Dan Levy, who lowered his price target from $1,125 to $1,000 per share.
The analyst also lowered his Q2 EPS estimate to $1.10 from $2.06, representing a 47% reduction. On top of that, Levy has a Q2 delivery estimate of 242,000 electric vehicles (EVs). That estimate is lower than the general sell-side consensus of roughly 280,000 vehicles. Meanwhile, the analyst also expects an impairment from the EV company’s Bitcoin (BTC-USD) holdings.
Electrek reports that Tesla has lost over $500 million due to Bitcoin’s decline. Back in 2021, Tesla announced that it had purchased $1.5 billion of the cryptocurrency. As of June 15, the company’s Bitcoin investment was reportedly worth $905 million.
On the bright side, Tesla’s Bitcoin is worth “only 10% of its cash position and 0.1% of its total market capitalization.” Still, an almost $600 million loss is not ideal for any company.
TSLA Stock: Credit Suisse Lowers Price Target to $1,000
Levy expects the lockdowns in China to hurt Tesla’s Q2 deliveries as well. However, the analyst remains bullish on TSLA stock, believing that the “long-term fundamentals are intact” and “widening supply constraints will likely extend Tesla’s lead over other OEMs in the race to EV.” The analyst also believes that Tesla’s strong fundamentals should outweigh any near-term challenges, such as inflation, the semiconductor shortage and production delays.
Meanwhile, Mizuho analyst Vijay Rakesh also lowered his TSLA price target today to $1,150 from $1,300. The analyst lowered his Q2 delivery estimate from 296,000 vehicles to 232,000 as well. This is due to the Covid-19 lockdowns in China. Rakesh cited that he company’s Shanghai factory produces more than 50% of output. For the future, though, the analyst continues to see high demand despite higher prices and lead times.
Lastly, Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas lowered his price target to $1,200 from $1,300. This price target reduction was “almost entirely due to WACC increasing to 9% from 8.5%.” Jonas also has a Q2 delivery estimate of 270,000 vehicles, down from the previous estimate of 316,000. For the full year, he expects 1.39 million deliveries.
The WACC, or weighted average cost of capital, is greatly influenced by the federal interest rate. When rates rise and all other factors are held constant, the WACC will increase as well. Subsequently, a higher WACC implies a higher discount rate, which will reduce the present value of future cash flows.
On the date of publication, Eddie Pan did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
