By Senad Karaahmetovic
Based on yesterday’s close of $121.82, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock price is down over 65% year-to-date (YTD). This week’s low of $108.24, which is also the 2022 low for Tesla stock, marks the lowest level seen since August 2020.
Several sell-side analysts jumped in this week to defend Tesla and highlight a buying opportunity in stock after a massive selloff since August.
Along these lines, Wedbush analysts, who harshly criticized CEO Elon Musk lately, shared the top 10 things that Musk needs to do next year to help improve the sentiment surrounding Tesla stock.
1. Name a CEO of Twitter by the end of January;
2. Stop selling stock and no more boy that cried wolf or Pinocchio situation;
3. Lay out conservative 2023 delivery and targets given the darker macro;
4. Focus attention back on Tesla, not Twitter;
5. Announce Cybertruck deliveries will hit the road by the end of 2023;
6. Board of Directors changes with some more experience around tech and EV leadership;
7. Buybacks, Buybacks, Buybacks. Announcing a major stock buyback program is important/key for the Street's confidence;
8. More financial metrics and transparency around the margin structure at Tesla;
9. The more political on Twitter that Musk becomes is a bad thing for selling EV cars to the masses; and
10. Lay out the strategic plan for Twitter.
Wedbush recently cut the price target on Tesla to $175 from the prior $250 per share after removing the stock from its ‘Best Idea’ list.
“We remain long term bullish and Outperform on Tesla although Musk MUST start to change direction here otherwise this situation could get even uglier,” they wrote in a note to clients.