Connect with us

Investor's Corner

TSLA Extended Hours Action after Q1 Report & Conference Call

Published

on

TSLA action on the day of the Q1 Report was effectively a wash: TSLA stock opened at 230.29 and closed the regular trading session down -4.20% at $222.56, but gained almost all of it back during “extended hours”, closing the day at 228.50. Right after the quarterly results were released, it traded as high as $243.43.

Source: OptionHouse Trading Platform

Source: OptionsHouse Trading Application

Obviously traders and brokers liked both the results and the subsequent answers that were given in the conference call.

What items did the traders actually like?

– Beating analysts’ expectations for earnings by 3 cents.

– Revenue of $1.15B, with sales of $1.6B. Net loss of $ -57c a share. A beat on the loss, a meet on sales.

– A decrease in capital expenditures by 47% from Q4 2015, with spending decreases at both Fremont factory and Gigafactory.

Advertisement

– A much more ambitious timeline of delivery of vehicles: 500,0000 vehicles in 2018 (two years ahead of the previous projections), and 1 Million vehicles in 2020.

– Adjusted plans for the Gigafactory to support the new timeline targets in 2018.

– A mix of 100-150K Model S and X, plus 300-400K Model 3, for 2018 vehicle deliveries.

– A July 1st, 2017 deadline for suppliers of Model 3 parts.

– A combination of capital & debt to support the more ambitious timeline.

Advertisement

– Projections of 20,000 vehicles delivered in Q2, and 50,000 in the rest of the year, maintaining the 80,000 to 90,000 vehicles projection for the year 2016.

– Brushing off the loss of 2 top executives for production and manufacturing, because Tesla is the place top talent in manufacturing would want to be, since at Tesla “innovation in manufacturing is more important than innovation in design” (a subtle swipe at Apple).

Interestingly no new reservation numbers for Model 3 were given, as we stand at “almost 400,000” from a couple of weeks ago.

Will Tesla be able to deliver on the adjusted projections? History tells us probably no. But short-term, Elon & Co. delivered: the pessimism that was evident among brokers and traders before the report and conference call, pretty much evaporated. My expectation for Thursday’s market is an opening between 228 and 230.

After 6 sessions that brought the stock from $255 down 9% to $222, we may see momentum start going the other way up again.

Advertisement

Update

While TSLA, as expected, opened at 228.46, it quickly turned red and within an hour was done 4.5%. From the morning broker’s comments, not everybody is buying Elon’s rosy projections. You have now witnessed how “volatile” TSLA stock can be: it went from an after-hours peak of $243 to $212 in a span of a few trading hours, a 13% drop. Not a stock for the faint of heart.

Advertisement
Comments

Investor's Corner

Tesla welcomes Chipotle President Jack Hartung to its Board of Directors

Tesla announced the addition of its new director in a post on social media platform X.

Published

on

Credit: @ArthurFromX/X

Tesla has welcomed Chipotle president Jack Hartung to its Board of Directors. Hartung will officially start his tenure at the electric vehicle maker on June 1, 2025.

Tesla announced the addition of its new director in a post on social media platform X.

Jack Hartung’s Role

With Hartung’s addition, the Tesla Board will now have nine members. It’s been a while since the company added a new director. Prior to Hartung, the last addition to the Tesla Board was Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia back in 2022. As noted in a Reuters report, Hartung will serve on the Tesla Board’s audit committee. He will also retire from his position as president and chief strategy officer at Chipotle, and transition into a senior advisor’s role at the restaurant chain, next month.

Hartung has had a long career in the Mexican grill, joining Chipotle in 2002. He held several positions in the company, most recently serving as Chipotle’s President and Chief Strategy Officer. Tesla highlighted Hartung’s accomplishments in a post on its official account on X.

“Over the past 20+ years under Jack’s financial leadership, Chipotle has seen significant growth with over 3,700 restaurants today across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. Jack was named ‘CFO of the Year’ by Orange County Business Journal and Best CFO in the restaurant category by Institutional Investor,” Tesla wrote in its post on X.

Advertisement

Tesla Board and Musk

Tesla is a controversial company with a controversial CEO, so it is no surprise that the Board of Directors tend to get flak as well. Two weeks ago, for example, Tesla Board Chair Robyn Denholm slammed The Wall Street Journal for publishing an article alleging that company directors had considered a search for a potential successor to Elon Musk. Denholm herself has also been criticized for offloading her TSLA shares.

More recently, news emerged suggesting that the Tesla Board of Directors had formed a special committee aimed at exploring a new pay package for CEO Elon Musk. The committee is reportedly comprised of Tesla board Chair Robyn Denholm and independent director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson, and they would be exploring alternative compensation methods for Musk’s contributions to the company.

Continue Reading

Investor's Corner

Rivian stock rises as analysts boost price targets post Q1 earnings

Rivian impressed with smaller-than-expected losses & strong revenue, pushing analysts to raise price targets.

Published

on

(Credit: Rivian)

Rivian stock is gaining traction as Wall Street analysts raise price targets following the electric vehicle (EV) maker’s first-quarter earnings report. Despite a dip after the announcement, optimism surrounds Rivian’s cost control and upcoming lower-priced cars.

Last week, Rivian reported a better-than-expected Q1 gross profit, surpassing Wall Street’s forecasts with adjusted losses of $0.48 per share against expectations of $0.92 per share. The company also reported a revenue of $1.24 billion compared to the $1.01 billion anticipated.

However, the EV automaker cut its 2025 delivery forecast and capital spending due to President Donald Trump’s tariffs. It explained that it is “not immune to the impacts of the global trade and economic environment.” RIVN stock dropped nearly 6% post-earnings, closing at $12.72 per share.

Wall Street remains upbeat about Rivian, citing progress toward launching lower-priced vehicles in 2026 and effective cost management. On Monday, Stifel analyst Stephen Gengaro raised his RIVN price target to $18 from $16, maintaining a “Buy” rating. He highlighted Rivian’s “solid progress” toward key milestones.

Advertisement

Conversely, Bernstein’s Daniel Roeska gave RIVN a “Sell” rating. However, Roeska also lifted his Rivian price target to $7.05 from $6.10, acknowledging “better” Q1 results. He warned that profitability remains distant and hinges on multiple product launches by the decade’s end.

Overall, Wall Street’s average price target for RIVN climbed from $14.18 to $14.31, a modest 13-cent increase reflecting positive sentiment. About one-third of analysts covering Rivian rate it a Buy, compared to the S&P 500’s average Buy-rating ratio of 55%.

On Monday, Rivian stock rose 2.7% to $14.64, slightly trailing the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average, which gained 3.3% and 2.8%, respectively. The uptick may also stem from broader market gains tied to news of a temporary U.S.-China tariff suspension.

As Rivian navigates trade challenges and scales production at its Illinois factory, its Q1 performance and analyst support signal resilience. With lower-priced EVs on the horizon, Rivian’s strategic moves could bolster its position in the competitive EV market, offering investors cautious optimism for long-term growth.

Continue Reading

Investor's Corner

Tesla (TSLA) poised to hit $1 trillion valuation again amid reports of Trump China deal

TSLA stock was up about 8% at $322.56 per share on Monday’s premarket.

Published

on

tesla-model-y-giga-texas-logo
(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla shares (NASDAQ:TSLA) are on a tear on Monday’s premarket amidst reports that the United States and China have agreed to significantly roll back tariffs on each other’s goods for an initial 90-day period.

As of writing, the premarket price of TSLA shares suggests that the electric vehicle maker might end Monday with a $1 trillion valuation once more.

Tesla and China

TSLA stock was up about 8% at $322.56 per share on Monday’s premarket. As noted in a report from Barron’s, these prices suggest that the company could achieve a trillion-dollar valuation again, a level not seen since late February. Similar to Tesla, the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were also up 2.8% and 2.1%, respectively, on Monday’s premarket.

The United States and China’s decision to roll back its tariffs would likely be appreciated by CEO Elon Musk. Despite working for the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and despite Tesla being least affected by the Trump administration’s tariffs due to its strong domestic supply chains in the United States, China, and Europe, Musk has noted that he is a supporter of non-predatory tariffs.

The United States and China’s Agreement

In a joint statement from the United States and China posted on the White House’s official website, the two countries agreed to lower reciprocal tariffs on each other by 115% for 90 days. This means that the United States will temporarily lower its overall tariffs on Chinese goods from 145% to 30%, as noted in an ABC 12 report. China, on the other hand, will also lower its tariffs on American goods from 125% to 10%.

Advertisement

The talks were led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, as per the joint statement. Bessent shared his thoughts about the matter in a comment in Geneva. “The consensus from both delegations is neither side wants to be decoupled, and what have occurred with these very high tariffs … was an equivalent of an embargo, and neither side wants that. We do want trade. We want more balance in trade. And I think both sides are committed to achieving that,” he said. 

A spokesperson from China’s Commerce Ministry also shared a statement about the matter. As per the spokesperson, the deal was an “important step by both sides to resolve differences through equal-footing dialogue and consultation, laying the groundwork and creating conditions for further bridging gaps and deepening cooperation.”

Continue Reading

Trending