Where does Wall Street Predict Tesla's Headed in 2022?

Tesla (TSLA) is the largest electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer in the world, and it has achieved a market cap of over $1 trillion. It’s continued outperforming the market with a 49% gain so far this year.

Since its last earnings report on October 20, the stock is up 21%. However, the stock is off 16% from its high in early November. One factor in this selloff is weakness in growth stocks due to rising short-term rates. Another is that CEO Elon Musk is unloading some of his shares. 

The next major event for the company is its Q4 earnings report in January. On average, analysts are expecting $1.92 in EPS and $15 billion in revenue which would be a 140% and 40% improvement from last year, respectively. Since its last earnings report, Wall Street analysts have hiked their consensus EPS estimates by 11% for Q4. 

Here’s a quick roundup of what Wall Street banks have been saying about Tesla since its last earnings report: 

UBS

Patrick Hummel of UBS raised his price target on Tesla from $725 to $1,000 but maintained a Neutral rating on the stock. 

In a research note, he said that, “We’ve raised estimates sharply to reflect this undisputed leadership, however, current valuation fully reflects such a steep curve.” He does see TSLA as the “undisputed leader” in the EV category which he expects to grow considerably over the next decade.

Piper Sandler

Alexander Potter of Piper Sandler also increased Tesla’s price target following Q3 results to $1,300 from $1,200. This is one of the higher targets on the Street.

Potter has had a Buy rating on TSLA since 2017 and has reiterated it 42 times and has been hiking his price targets. His bullishness derives from 2 factors: the popularity of TSLA cars compared to other EVs and higher than average margins. Since Potter’s first Buy rating, the stock is up 1,580%.

Morgan Stanley

Adam Jonas of Morgan Stanley hiked his price target to $1,200 from $900. He increased his forecast for TSLA’s 2030 sales to 8 million vehicles from 6 million, citing the company’s increasing operational efficiency. 

Jonas has been bullish on TSLA since November 2020. Since Jonas’ first Buy rating, the stock is up 116%.

Goldman Sachs

Mark Delaney of Goldman Sachs increased his price target to $1,125 from $905 and reiterated a Buy rating. He also hiked its 2022 and 2023 EPS targets by 8% and 17% to $9 and $10.50 per share, respectively.

He cited Hertz’s purchase of 100k TSLA vehicles, opportunities to monetize its fleet of chargers, and growth in sales. He first initiated a Buy rating on the stock in May 2020. Since then, TSLA is up 640%.

POWR Ratings

The POWR Ratings is our quantitative tool to analyze stocks. It takes into account 118 different factors to rate stocks and also further evaluates them by different component grades. A and B-rated stocks have posted average annual performances of 30.7% and 19.7% which handily outperforms the S&P 500’s average 7.1% gain.

TSLA is currently rated a C which translates to a Neutral grade. In terms of component grades, TSLA has an A for Growth and B for Quality. This is consistent with its bullish Q4 forecast and status as the leading company in the EV space with pricing power due to strong demand. Click here to see TSLA’s complete POWR Ratings.

Conclusion

In total, 12 out of 18 Wall Street analysts have a Buy rating on the stock. Not surprisingly, the stocks generate some strong opinions among investors and analysts.

This is reflected in its wide range of price targets which are around $1,400 on the upper end and $400 on the lower end.  

TSLA shares were trading at $1,037.01 per share on Thursday morning, down $31.95 (-2.99%). Year-to-date, TSLA has gained 46.95%, versus a 26.35% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

Jaimini Desai has been a financial writer and reporter for nearly a decade. His goal is to help readers identify risks and opportunities in the markets. He is the Chief Growth Strategist for StockNews.com and the editor of the POWR Growth and POWR Stocks Under $10 newsletters. Learn more about Jaimini’s background, along with links to his most recent articles.

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