Tesla (TSLA) stock rallies as analysts see EV automaker fare better than rest of industry in this crisis

Tesla’s stock (TSLA) is rallying today as Wall Street analysts see the EV automaker potentially faring better than the rest of the industry in this crisis.

Auto analysts have been trying to understand the extent of the impact the coronavirus crisis is going to have on the auto market.

Following the release of Tesla Q1 2020 production and delivery numbers, which revealed the automaker delivered 88,400 cars during the first quarter and it managed to produce 102,672 vehicles over the last 3 months, some analysts are updating their recommendations on Tesla’s stock.

Baird analyst Ben Kallo is one of them.

In a new note to clients, he said that he believes “new products and geographies driving growth, a potentially widening electric-vehicle competitive advantage, and over-the-air updates keeping vehicles fresh” will help Tesla fair better than the rest of the industry amid this crisis.

In contrast, he discussed what happened in 2008:

“Similarly, U.S. auto [seasonally adjusted annual rates] took five to six years to recover to prerecession levels after declining about 35% between 2007 and 2009,”

Kallo has recently updated his rating of Tesla’s stock to “neutral” with a $525 price target.

Ben Kallo is ranked #502 out of 6,217 Analysts on TipRanks with a success rate of 52% and an average return of 5.7%. He maintained a buy rating on Tesla’s stock for a long time before the massive rally at the beginning of the year:

Jefferies analyst Philippe Houchois was also out with a new note on Tesla today and he had similar comments regarding how the company could fair against the rest of the industry following the coronavirus pandemic.

While he expects the rest of the industry to see sales fall, he is predicting a 27% increase in sales for Tesla:

“We would assume higher consumer support to energy efficient transport,”

The analyst also notes that Tesla could not only do well with its auto business, but its energy business could also benefit this year.

Despite this positive outlook, Houchois reduced Jefferies’ price target on Tesla’s stock from $800 to $650.

Philippe Houchois is ranked #157 out of 6,217 Analysts on TipRanks with a success rate of 56% and an average return of 28.5%. His ranking has been helped by his call to buy Tesla’s stock during the massive rally at the beginning of the year:

Tesla’s stock (TSLA) opened up 6% this morning after Baird and Jefferies released their notes.