Tesla's Stock Could Make New Highs As Model 3 Production Ramps--analyst

Shares of Tesla Inc. slumped 1.4% in premarket trade, on the back of downbeat deliveries data, but Baird analyst Ben Kallo said he believed the weakness will be short lived as investors start looking ahead to the Model 3 introduction later this month Kallo reiterated his outperform rating and stock price target of $368, which is 4.4% above Monday's closing price of $352.62. Despite the disappointing second-quarter deliveries data, Kallo said what he believes is important is that Tesla indicated it expects to increase combined deliveries of the Model S and Model X, which demonstrates continued demand for Tesla vehicles. The Model 3 is set to be introduced on July 28. "The release of Q2 deliveries was another de-risking event for the stock, and we expect shares to trade higher as investors are increasingly able to focus on the Model 3," Kallo wrote in a note to clients. He said the stock could "make new highs"--the record close was $383.45 on June 23--as Model 3 production ramps. The stock has soared 65% year to date through Monday, while the S&P 500 has gained 8.5%.