By Michael Elkins
Mizuho Securities reiterated a Buy rating on Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and lowered the price target to $370.00 (from 391.67) following the release of the electric vehicle company’s September delivery numbers.
Tesla’s deliveries were 42% to 343.8k units compared to the same time last year. However, the company still fell short of the consensus estimate of about 363k. Management noted logistical challenges in the quarter.
Analysts wrote that “deliveries were impacted by logistics challenges and the inability to secure vehicle transport with higher production levels.” The company produced 365.9k units in the quarter, up 54% compared to last year. They added, “we continue to see Tesla well positioned long-term with Texas Gigafactory ramping, Berlin Gigafactory now producing over 2k Model Ys per week (Link), China extending EV tax breaks through 2025, and Tesla again eligible for the $7,500 tax credit on select Model 3 and Model Y trims beginning Jan 1, 2023, which could accelerate demand.”
Rival company Nio (NYSE:NIO) reported 31.6k units, just shy of a 33.1k consensus. Rivian (NASDAQ:RIVN) delivered 6.6k, in line with the consensus of 6.7k.
For TSLA, Mizuho now sees F22E/F23E/F24E deliveries at 1.30M/1.9M/2.4M units (prior 1.34M/2.0M/2.5M).
Shares of TSLA are down 1.1% in pre-market trading on Thursday.