‘Time to Up the Ante,' Says Top Investor About Tesla Stock
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Yet, despite this barrage of negative headlines, Tesla's share price has shown resilience. After a chilling start to the year, TSLA has rebounded 24% over the past three months, reflecting investors' enduring faith in Musk's ability to deliver value, even when the narrative seems stacked against him.
Among the believers is top investor JR Research, who, until recently, was a skeptic. JR now argues that the real story is not about present-day EV sales, but rather Tesla's potential to revolutionize autonomous transport.
'I believe it's really time for us to consider TSLA's valuation to be mainly predicated on its ability to achieve its robotaxi objectives,' notes JR, who is among the very top 1% of TipRanks' stock pros.
While Alphabet's Waymo may appear to have the advantage at present, JR explains that Tesla is firmly in the driver's seat over the long-term. The investor cites 'salient commentary' from an industry insider, who predicts that Tesla's cost-effective end-to-end neural network approach will ultimately be easier to scale than Waymo's sensor-heavy development.
In addition, Tesla's fleet of EV's should allow it 'to scale its robotaxi vision quickly,' whereas Waymo does not have the infrastructure in place to compete with Tesla's 'massive' economies of scale.
If Tesla can capture even 30% of the robotaxi market, JR projects that the company's operating income could soar by 32% to 53% by 2030. In this light, short-term fluctuations in delivery numbers become far less significant – investors focused solely on the present may be missing the bigger picture.
'Occasionally missing quarterly targets or putting out deliveries decline may no longer hamper the stock that substantially if the robotaxi pivot continues to unfold successfully,' concludes JR Research. 'I'm ready to move back to the bullish side of Tesla's camp.'
Marking a clear change of heart, JR Research has upgraded TSLA to Buy, signaling renewed confidence in Tesla's long-term vision. (To watch JR Research's track record, click here)
Even so, Wall Street sentiment remains mixed. With 13 Buy recommendations, 13 Holds, and 9 Sells, TSLA currently carries a Hold (i.e., Neutral) consensus rating. The average 12-month price target stands at $293.38, suggesting about 6% downside from current levels. (See TSLA stock forecast)
To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks' Best Stocks to Buy, a tool that unites all of TipRanks' equity insights.
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