Tag Archives: tsla

Tesla Production Target Said To Be Achievable, Price Target Hiked

Electric automaker Tesla ( TSLA ) got a price-target increase from Evercore ISI on Thursday, as analyst George Galliers defended the automaker’s ambitious production targets. Tesla sparked debate when it said in its Q1 earnings report last week that its was moving up its goal of manufacturing 500,000 cars a year by two years, to 2018. Galliers acknowledged that this will be a tough task, given that the company made only 51,000 vehicles last year, but he said it’s not impossible. “Tesla’s proposed production ramp is aggressive, and many have suggested that it is without precedence,” he wrote in his research note, raising Tesla’s price target to 320 from 310. “However, while we are not aware of any developed-world manufacturer who has seen such an aggressive ramp since inception, certain Chinese OEMs’ (original equipment manufacturers’) production growth is not that dissimilar to what Tesla is looking to achieve.” Galliers added that Ford ( F ) had built as many vehicles in year one of some product launches, such as the Ford Focus and the F-150. Some of the skepticism has come from Tesla’s troubled launch of the Model X SUV, but Galliers, like Tesla CEO Elon Musk, dismissed the comparison. “Building cars is not like playing tennis,” he wrote. “No OEM is only as good as its last match/product launch.” Despite this vote of confidence, Tesla stock was down a fraction in early trading on the stock market today , near 208.

Tesla Partner Nvidia’s Q1 Sales Seen Speeding Faster Than Most

Wall Street expects Tesla Motors ( TSLA ) partner Nvidia ( NVDA ) to post double-digit sales growth for just the second time in the past six quarters, as well as its biggest earnings growth in five quarters, when the company reports Q1 earnings Thursday. Nvidia stock has zoomed since Feb. 12, up 40% since  Facebook ( FB )-owned Oculus Rift released its first virtual-reality headset. Nvidia and rival Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ) are the recommended graphics-chip providers for laptops that work with the headsets. Nvidia stock rose a fraction Wednesday to 36.06 ahead of its Q1 report due after the close. For Q1, the consensus of 26 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect Nvidia to report $1.26 billion in sales and 32 cents earnings per share ex items, up a respective 10% and 33% vs. the year-earlier quarter. Sales would decelerate from 12% growth in Q4 but top the four previous quarters. Earnings last climbed above the 30%-growth mark in March 2015. Nvidia’s Q1 report comes a week after the chipmaker and Samsung called for a truce  in their two-year licensing battle. It also follows Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s call for the automaker to manufacturer 1 million electric vehicles by 2020 — a boon to Nvidia, whose chips power digital instrument and infotainment displays in the Model S. Tesla’s yet-to-be-released  Model 3 was marked by “overwhelming demand” when it began taking preorders in April, Musk and Tesla CFO Jason Wheeler told shareholders this month.

Tesla ‘Cousin’ SolarCity Trims 2016 View On Nevada, ITC Effect

Nevada’s net-metering decision torched Tesla Motors ( TSLA ) “cousin” SolarCity ( SCTY ) late Monday, after the No. 1 residential solar installer cut 2016 installation guidance and reported a 150-megawatt dip in expected Q1 bookings. SolarCity also reported a wider-than-expected Q1 loss and was in the red, minus items, for the 13th consecutive quarter. Revenue, however, topped the expectations of 18 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, and SolarCity beat its own installation forecast. In after-hours trading following the earnings release, SolarCity stock crashed more than 15%, after rising 3.1% in Monday’s regular session, at 22.51. As of Monday’s close, shares are down 56% this year. For Q1, SolarCity reported $123 million in sales, up 82% vs. the year-earlier quarter, and smashing Wall Street expectations for $108.4 million. But losses per-share minus items deepened to $2.56 vs. consensus views for $2.31. Last year, SolarCity pledged to curb its annual 80% growth rate in order to turn around profits. During Q1, SolarCity installed 214 megawatts, up 40% year over year and beating its own guidance for 180 MW. For Q2, SolarCity expects 185 MW in installations, which would be down 2% vs. Q2 2015. SolarCity also guided to $2.70-$2.80 losses per share ex items, widening from $1.61 in the year-earlier quarter and missing the consensus for $2.13. For the year, SolarCity now expects 1 gigawatt to 1.1 GW in installations vs. earlier views for 1.25 GW, noting that Q1 bookings were about 150 MW lower than anticipated and are unlikely to be made this year. SolarCity said Nevada averaged about for 20 MW in quarterly installations. The company exited the state in December after Nevada regulators opted to cut net-metering payments to solar customers, which makes the economics of installing solar energy systems less attractive to users. Top rival Sunrun ( RUN ) also exited Nevada. Spooked by Nevada’s move, some potential customers have backed off booking solar installations, SolarCity said Monday. And the extension of the U.S. Investment Tax Credit (ITC), a key solar subsidy, beyond what had been a 2016 deadline — good in the long run — removed the urgency to get projects done right away. “Pending regulatory decisions in California, Massachusetts and New Hampshire (which have since been largely resolved) further delayed solar purchasing decisions,” SolarCity wrote in its earnings release. Tesla CEO Elon Musk is chairman of SolarCity, whose CEO is his cousin, Lyndon Rive. The two companies have a battery-technology partnership.