Tesla stock was rising in early trading, trying to make itfour consecutive gainsin a rows. Delivery optimism is helping. So is the company’sRobotaxi Eventcoming in two weeks.
Coming into Thursday trading, Tesla stock was up about 3% year to date and up about 85% from lows reached in April.
Shares of the electric-vehicle maker are up 1.8% at $261.70, while S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.8% and 0.5%, respectively. Shares haven’t breached the $260 level since mid-July.
A nice jump in stock futures helps most stocks, and much of that is from the latest announcement of more stimulus measures in China. Tesla shares have been exceptionally strong coming into Thursday trading, rising more than 20% over the past month.
One thing that helped was the Federal Reserve Board interest-rate cut on Sept. 18. Shares have risen by almost 13% since then. Lower interest rates reduce car payments, making cars more affordable, and boosting demand.
Delivery expectations helped, too. For the third quarter, Wall Street sees Tesla delivering about 460,000 cars, according to FactSet, up about 6% year over year. Showing growth is important. Tesla delivered about 831,000 cars in the first half of 2024, down about 7% year over year.
Most of the Wall Street reports previewing earnings have been positive, citing a record quarter for deliveries in China. Deutsche Bank analyst Edison Yu wrote Thursday he expects deliveries to at least match the consensus number. He rates Tesla stock at Buy and has a $295 price target.
Tesla stock is also rising in anticipation of the company’s Oct. 10 Robotaxi event. Tesla is expected to reveal a physical robotaxi and tell investors when in might launch a service of self-driving cabs. Exactly how the event will be received is hard to say. William Blair analyst Jed Dorsheimer says that Tesla stock typically rises into the company’s big events and sells off after.
That’s just the pattern he has noticed. Dorsheimer isn’t a bear. He rates Tesla stock at Buy, meaning he expects shares to outperform, and doesn’t have a price target.