Optimism About Tesla Deliveries Boosts Its Stock

Tesla (TSLA) shares jumped on Monday, lifted by optimism that the electric vehicle (EV) maker will post solid second-quarter delivery numbers tomorrow.

Chinese demand “is slowly turning around,” and a "mini rebound" occurred there for the company in the second quarter, according to Wedbush Securities analysts led by bull Dan Ives. That momentum should help Tesla come close to 435,000 deliveries for the latest quarter, the analysts wrote.

Visible Alpha's current consensus is for just under 439,000 deliveries; the company reported nearly 387,000 for the first quarter.

Tesla's shares were the biggest gainer on the S&P 500 Monday, rising 6.1% to close at $209.86. The stock is still down about 15% since the start of the year.

August Unveiling of Robotaxi Seen as Tesla Catalyst

The analysts added that “a key historical moment for the Tesla story” will come on Aug. 8 when the carmaker is expected to unveil a driverless robotaxi, which they see as a near-term catalyst. The analysts said that they believe that autonomous vehicles and Tesla's full self-driving feature will help the automaker reclaim a $1 trillion market valuation.

Wedbush maintained its "outperform" rating and $275 price target on the stock. Its “bull-case” price outlook is $350 in 2025. 

China EV manufacturers, Nio (NIO), Li Auto (LI), and XPeng (XPEV) released monthly and quarterly delivery numbers Monday, with all three showing solid gains. The American depositary receipts (ADRs) of all three were higher in recent trading.

Despite Monday’s gains, Tesla shares are down about 14% year-to-date.

UPDATE: This article has been updated with Monday's closing stock price and a chart.