Source: MarketWatch
Tesla Inc.’s first-quarter earnings and accompanying call with analysts was “one of (the) top debacles we have ever seen,” according to one longtime Tesla bull, who said Thursday he was dropping his buy rating on the stock.
Daniel Ives of Wedbush cut his rating on Tesla TSLA, -3.65% to neutral from outperform, the equivalent of buy, in a scorching note that reflected equal amounts of frustration and despair.
“In our 20 years of covering tech stocks on the Street we view this quarter as one of top debacles we have ever seen while Musk & Co. in an episode out of the Twilight Zone act as if demand and profitability will magically return to the Tesla story,” Ives wrote in a note to investors. “Ultimately we believe the company’s guidance is aggressive and management/board is not taking aggressive enough cost cutting actions and shutting down future endeavors to preserve capital and give a sustained path to profitability for the Street.”
Tesla late Wednesday posted a wider-than-expected first-quarter adjusted loss and missed revenue forecasts, although Wall Street appeared to zero in initially on promises that company executives made during their call with analysts, including that the car maker would be profitable again this year.
For the full report, read: Tesla misses first-quarter earnings estimates, but Wall Street focuses on hopes of profit
Tesla posted a loss of $702 million, or $4.10 a share, in the first quarter, compared with a GAAP loss of $4.19 a share in the year-ago period. Adjusted for one-time items, Tesla said it lost $494 million, or $2.90 a share, compared with a loss of $3.35 a share a year ago.
Revenue reached $4.5 billion, compared with $3.4 billion a year ago.
Analysts polled by FactSet had expected an adjusted loss of $1.15 a share on sales of $5.4 billion for the quarter. The per-share loss forecast had widened in recent days, and comes after Tesla reported third- and fourth-quarter GAAP and adjusted profits.
“In our 20 years of covering tech stocks on the Street we view this quarter as one of top debacles we have ever seen while Musk & Co. in an episode out of the Twilight Zone act as if demand and profitability will magically return to the Tesla story.”
The stock wavered between gains and losses in…
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