Tesla Shares 'can Set New Highs' By Year-end: Morgan Stanley

If Tesla Motors Inc.'s Model X, the upcoming SUV, "does the things we think it can do, we believe this stock can set new highs by year end," analysts at Morgan Stanley said in a note Thursday. They reiterated their overweight rating on Tesla, and their price target of $280 -- 37% upside from Wednesday's close. Tesla has earmarked $1.5 billion in capital expenditures for 2015, 10 times as much as Ford Motor Co. as a proportion of their revenues, but that's worth it as the electric-car maker "has the best opportunity to change the industry fundamentally despite burning cash and having no near-term valuation support," the analysts said. Tesla shares have gained 3.1% this month, but lost 15% in the past three months.