Tesla closes at its lowest level in over 1 1/2 years (TSLA)

pulse

October 8, 2018 9:18 PM

Tesla shares have cratered 35% since approaching record highs following CEO Elon Musk's "funding secured" tweet. On Monday, they closed at their lowest level since March 2017.

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Tesla shares were under pressure Monday, closing down more than 4% and at their lowest level in over 1 1/2 years.

Tesla's stock hit a near-record high of $387.46 on August 7, the day CEO Elon Musk tweeted that he had "funding secured" to take the electric-car maker private at $420 a share.

But it has been a difficult two months for stockholders since then, as Musk did not actually have the funding secured and was ultimately sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which accused him of making "false and misleading statements."

Musk settled the lawsuit at the end of September, agreeing to step down as Tesla chairman for at least three years and to pay a $20 million fine that was matched by his employer. In the fallout, Tesla shares have fallen 35%.

And Tesla shares aren't out of the woods just yet. While the Bloomberg consensus for the stock is at $291.65 — 15% above current levels — analysts are starting to grow a bit more skeptical of the electric-car maker.

Last week, Tesla reported deliveries that topped Wall Street estimates, but shares sold off as analysts began looking ahead to the company's next earnings report.

Ultimately it will come down to profitability. Tesla's second-quarter results, released August 1, showed a negative free cash flow of $739 million, translating to a loss of about $3 a share. That caused many analysts on the Street to factor in a capital infusion to their models before the end of the year.

"We doubt that the all hands on deck burst mode for production and deliveries will result in profitability in 3Q, but believe the shift toward AWD production in 4Q could enable the company to achieve profitability on an adjusted basis in 4Q, though we are not forecasting GAAP profitability," the Cowen analyst Jeff Osborne said following the company's September deliveries report.

"We still see the need for a raise in 4Q of $2 billion."

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