Shares of Tesla hit a fresh record high for the third straight session on Friday, and were just $7 shy from the $420 per share price at which founder Elon Musk sought to take the electric carmaker private more than a year ago.
The recent run-up is a stunning turnaround for the shares, triggered by a rare quarterly profit in October, news of production ramp-up in its China factory and upbeat early deposits for its recently launched electric pickup truck.
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The shares have climbed about 40% since the earnings. At roughly $74 billion, the company's market capitalization tops by about $20 billion that of the biggest U.S. automaker by production, General Motors, and is nearly twice that of rival Ford. . . .
Wall Street remains divided, with 13 brokerages recommending "sell" or lower, and 11 rating the stock "buy" or higher. Nine have a "hold" rating.
- "Given the clash between Elon Musk's long-term goals/vision and the near-term fundamentals, Tesla stock is the ultimate sentiment pendulum," analysts at RBC Capital Markets wrote on Friday, hiking its price target by $70 to $290.
RBC is the 10th brokerage to boost its price target in the last 10 days, according to Refinitiv data.