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What happened
Shares of Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) were slammed this morning, along with many other growth stocks. The electric-car maker’s stock declined as much as 7.6% shortly after market open. But it was down only 1% as of 10:15 a.m. EDT.
The stock’s initial decline was likely driven by a combination of a bearish analyst note on Tesla shares and a broader-market sell-off at the opening of trading — a pullback that hit growth stocks like Tesla particularly hard.
Tesla vehicles. Image source: Tesla.
So what
Roth Capital analyst Craig Irwin, who has one of the most pessimistic views for Tesla stock among analysts covering the company, said in a note to investors on Thursday morning that the company’s Battery Day event earlier this week was a “disappointment” that ultimately didn’t live up to the hype.
Irwin has a neutral rating on the stock and a $150 12-month price target.
Capturing the initial sharp drop when the market opened this morning, the Nasdaq Composite initially declined more than 1%. But the index reversed course and was up 0.6% as of this writing.
Now what
Looking to the rest of 2020, Tesla will need to execute expertly to continue justifying its pricey valuation. Though shares are down slightly today, they’re still up nearly 700% over the past 12 months.
The next time investors will likely get a material update on Tesla is in the first few days of October when the automaker reports third-quarter vehicle deliveries. Investors are looking for record deliveries during the period.