Tesla stock (NASDAQ:TSLA) has received a positive outlook from Deutsche Bank, which recently hosted a meeting with a Tesla executive. The 149-year-old financial firm stated that Tesla could be reaching a turning point towards profitability, particularly as pieces fall into place in regions such as Europe and China, where the electric car maker could make a significant impact.
Deutsche Bank Senior Autos & Auto Technology Analyst Emmanuel Rosner outlined a number of the optimistic conclusions that the financial firm reached after its meeting with Tesla Head of investor Relations Martin Viecha in London, following the executive’s participation at the IAA Conference in Frankfurt, Germany.
“Overall, we found Tesla’s message to be bullish about the company’s near-term dynamics, and the potential for the next 12 months to be a turning point for the company’s profitability. In the near term, Tesla described stable Model 3 ASP, strong initial UK demand, and large demand potential from Europe and Korea markets, which could all help boost gross margins. Beyond it, China production seems on track to start before year-end, there should be large ramp up in credits from FCA deal, and Model Y should start production in the fall of 2020, which Tesla expects will yield large additional boost to profitability and cash flow,” the financial firm wrote.
Tesla is currently involved in yet another push to deliver as many vehicles as it can before the end of the third quarter. The company has had a challenging year, with its delivery challenges in Q1 and its loss in Q2 despite hitting record numbers. Elon Musk has not really provided a hint about Tesla’s state this Q3, though reports from regions such as Europe and China suggest that demand remains strong for the company’s vehicles. Tesla’s renewed focus on residential solar could also play into the company’s favor.
While Tesla stock remains volatile, the third quarter has actually been uncharacteristically quiet for the electric car maker. This relative absence of drama despite waves of negative news about the company appears to have worked pretty well for TSLA stock, which has seen some stability in recent weeks. As of Monday this week, for example, Tesla stock was up 9% in September 2019.
According to Nomura Instinet analyst Christopher Eberle, part of this is due to the fact that the company is seemingly settling down and focusing its efforts on delivering solid results. Even Elon Musk, who was prone to engaging critics on Twitter last year during TSLA stock’s most volatile days, has been relatively silent, largely limiting his posts to comments about Tesla updates, the progress of SpaceX’s projects, and his trademark memes.
“This is exactly the kind of low-controversy execution that we and many investors have hoped to see from Tesla for some time. If the company can continue to hit both operational and financial targets, we see an opportunity to get more positive on Tesla shares in the future. North American demand appears solid and particularly robust on a market share basis. We continue to believe that consumer demand is a low-level concern,” he said.
As of writing, Tesla stock is trading +0.32% at $243.59.
Disclosure: I have no ownership in shares of TSLA and have no plans to initiate any positions within 72 hours.
H/T Trader 53.