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What Happened to Tesla Shares?

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Tesla (TSLA - Free Report) shares undoubtedly jump to the forefront of many minds when considering exciting investments. After all, it’s easy to understand why, as the company has entirely changed the way we see the automotive landscape.

And, of course, TSLA shares have long been outperformers, up nearly 5000% just over the last decade and crushing the S&P 500.  

However, Tesla shares have been punished over the last month, as shown in the chart below.

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

It raises a valid question: what’s been going on?

Let’s take a closer look.

Near-Term Headaches

First of all, Tesla’s total EV deliveries are always closely monitored.

It's an absolutely vital metric because, of course, it shows how many EVs Tesla has been able to place in the hands of customers.

And on Monday, Tesla reported Q4 deliveries of roughly 405,000. On the surface level, this would be fantastic, representing another quarter of record deliveries for the EV titan.

However, the reported figure fell short of estimates, sending shares downward in Tuesday’s session. Our consensus estimate stood at 407,855.

The worse-than-expected EV deliveries number came in a quarter that was already negatively impacted by COVID-19 disruptions, causing its Shanghai plant to reduce production.

All in all, reduced production at its Shanghai location, a miss on deliveries, and concerns of weakening demand have all been a thorn in the side of Tesla over the recent months.

How else does everything look?

Valuation & Quarterly Performance

Following the rough stretch of price action, the company’s valuation multiples have drifted lower. Currently, TSLA shares trade at a 4.4X forward price-to-sales ratio, beneath its 6.5X five-year median and a fraction of 2022 highs of 23.4X.

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

In addition, the company has posted strong bottom-line results as of late, exceeding the Zacks Consensus EPS Estimate by double-digit percentages in seven consecutive quarters.

Revenue results have left some to be desired as of late, with TSLA falling short of sales expectations in back-to-back quarters. Below is a chart illustrating the company’s revenue on a quarterly basis.

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Bottom Line

Various issues have plagued Tesla (TSLA - Free Report) shares as of late, including COVID-19 disruptions, lower-than-expected Q4 deliveries, and talks of softening demand.

In addition, the company is currently a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), indicating that its near-term earnings outlook has come under pressure.

On a brighter note, the company’s valuation multiples have seemingly come back to earth, perhaps enticing those with a long-term horizon. Still, waiting until positive earnings estimate revisions start rolling in would be a much better approach.


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