Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) opened above $900 per share on Wednesday morning amidst an optimistic outlook from analysts at Piper Sandler Companies. The Minneapolis, Minnesota-based investment firm raised its price target partly because of Tesla’s potential to succeed in its energy generation and battery storage business.
Piper Sandler analyst Alexander Potter raised Tesla’s price target from $729 to $928 per share. This makes Piper one of the biggest TSLA bulls tracked by Bloomberg. The positive outlook appears to have helped Tesla shares gain momentum once more, helping the company touch a high of $925 per share on Wednesday’s pre-market before opening at just over $900 per share.
“It’s easy to forget that TSLA sells batteries and solar power products; after all, the segment was only 6% of sales in 2019. But management says that the solar+storage business will one day rival the Automotive segment, and if this is true, then investors will eventually need to pay attention,” the analysts wrote.
To get a preview of how well Tesla’s energy business fits in with the company’s overall goals, Piper installed a solar-based charging system for a Tesla Model X SUV. The analysts seemed to be optimistic about their tests, stating in the note they wrote on Tuesday that the results have been “illuminating” so far.
Tesla has been hiring for its Solarglass Roof team as it plans to begin installing the product in an expanded area throughout California. Tesla has also ramped production at its Tesla Giga New York facility to meet Elon Musk’s goals for its energy business. Tesla ramped solar roofing sales after a 26% jump in MW deployment from Q3 to Q4 2019.
Piper raised its target price on Tesla twice last month due to its growth potential at Giga Shanghai, the company’s Chinese production plant. Tesla began delivering Made-in-China Model 3 sedans to local customers in early January after CEO Elon Musk flew to Shanghai to attend an event commemorating the first public deliveries of the vehicle. The first China-made Model 3s were handed over to employees at Giga Shanghai in late December.
Tesla shares rose 7.3% on Tuesday thanks to both Morgan Stanley and Sanford C. Bernstein posting optimistic outlooks on the electric car maker. Morgan Stanley’s Adam Jonas increased his bull case estimate for Tesla from $650 to $1,200. Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi, on the other hand, raised his price target from $325 to $730, stating that the company has the potential to grow its addressable market by more than 30 times within the next 20 years.
As of writing, Tesla shares are up 8.75% at $933.49 per share.
Disclosure: I have no ownership in shares of TSLA and have no plans to initiate any positions within 72 hours.