By
Bena Ilyas
April 23rd, 2024
Canaccord Genuity cut its Tesla shares price target from $304 to $275 citing “cosmically bad” public sentiment and a “distraught” shareholder base.
Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) shares closed Thursday’s market trading at $125.35, down 8.88 percent from the day’s opening price. TSLA shares had, however, regained approximately 1.12 percent of the loss during the extended trading session. While the stock and crypto market has experienced a significant sell-off in 2022, analysts argue Tesla shares are feeling the heat of waning electric vehicle (EV) demand.
Additionally, Elon Musk’s division of labor, following the Twitter acquisition, has seen mixed reactions from Tesla’s investors and United States regulators. For instance, Canaccord Genuity cut its Tesla shares price target from $304 to $275 citing “cosmically bad” public sentiment and a “distraught” shareholder base.
“Elon Musk is doing Elon Musk things,” Canaccord’s George Gianarikas wrote. “Some of this is Twitter-related drama, much is not.”
Additionally, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren recently raised concerns about Musk running Tesla like a private company.
Elon Musk took over @Twitter, but he's still the CEO of @Tesla. That raises legal concerns — is he creating conflicts of interest? Is he misappropriating company resources? Tesla is not Musk’s private plaything. I’ve got many questions for the Tesla Board. https://t.co/B028T1Yive
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) December 19, 2022
In his defense, Musk has defended his role as Twitter CEO, citing that he will resign after getting the best-qualified candidate.
“I will resign as CEO as soon as I find someone foolish enough to take the job! After that, I will just run the software & servers teams,” Musk noted.
Tesla Shares and Market Outlook
Tesla shares are trading 64 percent down YTD, whereby they have dropped approximately 56 percent in the last three months. As 2023 draws near, Tesla has a reported market capitalization of approximately $434.41 billion, down from about $1.3 trillion a year ago.
The EV maker has, nonetheless, made tremendous progress in building capacity to scale up its production. Notably, Tesla has several running production sites including in China, the United States, and Germany. Furthermore, worldwide governments are moving towards clean energy adoption with electric vehicles among their top priorities.
For instance, the United States recently passed legislation called the Inflation Reduction Act, which offers EV buyers $7,500 in federal tax breaks. As such, Tesla shares have the possibility of rebounding in the next few quarters.
Moreover, the company produced over 365,000 vehicles and delivered over 343,000 vehicles during the third quarter.
The acquisition of Twitter by Musk has impacted the Tesla market after the billionaire undertook a series of stock sales. Additionally, Ark Investments led by Cathie Wood has sold off a significant portion of its Tesla shares.
Nonetheless, a survey conducted by MarketWatch shows 43 ratings gave TSLA shares an average rating of OVER. Additionally, the survey found out that the 43 ratings gave Tesla shares an average target price of $271.83.