Guggenheim analyst Robert Cihra raised his price target for Tesla shares to $430 and reiterates a Buy rating on the name. The stock closed Monday down $8.99 to $352.62. Early production constraints of its new high-end 100kWh battery packs led to Q2 deliveries of just 22,000, below the analyst’s 23,900 estimate.
The bigger news, however, is Monday’s revelation that production of the new Model 3 is on track to start in July, Cihra tells investors in a research note. The analyst believes most thought the target would not be met just a few months ago and he notes the Model 3 represents Tesla’s first car to genuinely launch on schedule. He sees two-to-three years of “upside leverage to also now start as volumes ramp off Tesla’s high fixed-cost structure”.
