Is Tesla Stock Under $360 a Share an Obvious Buy in September?
The stock has fallen by more than 20% this year, but still maintains a market cap of around $1.4 trillion and a lofty valuation.
Overview
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) is well off a 52-week high that approached $500 per share. At its current price of around $360, the stock is also comfortably below the average analyst price target for the electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer. Yet just because Tesla appears undervalued to the analysts, does that make it an obvious buy?
Tesla's financials paint a mixed, but interesting, picture. Elon Musk's company posted a record second quarter of EV deliveries, and total revenue jumped 26% year over year to $28.2 billion. All that would appear to be great news, until you look at the company's profitability. Free cash flow turned negative as capital spending soared. Margins are under pressure as Tesla is on course to invest up to $25 billion this year in its new Cybercabs, AI initiatives, and robotics.
Details
To me, this is more of a story of short-term pressure than longer-term concerns. The investments Tesla is making today are somewhat speculative, and there are real execution risks to consider, but for investors with long time horizons, the payoff could be enormous. I'm particularly optimistic about Tesla's energy storage capabilities, which are becoming increasingly important as the AI boom continues.
Source
Originally published at www.fool.com.