Tesla continues to slide ahead of next week’s delivery numbers (TSLA)

pulse

March 29, 2018 3:36 PM

"Production hell," a fiery crash, and a Moody's downgrade have made this week a rough one for Tesla.

Analysts are expecting another miss when the company reports delivery numbers for the Model 3, as soon as next week.

Shares of Tesla slid more than 3% Thursday, continuing their week of declines amid plummeting bond prices and a quickly approaching production report that has traders bracing for the worst.

The electric automaker’s stock has declined by 18% in the past week following a downgrade by debt-rating agency Moody’s and as it continues to struggle through "production hell" with its Model 3 sedan.

An investigation by the NTSB into a fiery, fatal crash in California and a partnership between Jaguar and Waymo for 20,000 electric self-driving cars only made things worse. In total, the decline has made short-sellers more than $1.9 billion in less than a month.

"We see the slow ramp and cash burn putting pressure on the stock given the debt due and EV competition coming this year and next," Cowen analyst Jeff Osborne said in a note to clients this week. The firm expects Tesla to report deliveries of 7,500 for the Model 3 next week. Osborne has a bearish $200 price target for the stock — 20% below where shares were trading Thursday.

Tesla has historically missed expectations for vehicle production numbers — and Osborne isn’t the only bear expecting another disappointment.

Gene Munster of Loup Ventures told Bloomberg TV Thursday that he also expects a miss.

“With the potential for another Model 3 production timeline push, we are seeing increased investor concern over the company's cash burn and debt load,” Osborne of Cowen said.

Shares of Tesla are down 21% since the beginning of 2018.

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