Why one analyst thinks TSLA stock could be headed to $500
Analysts are weighing in on electric car maker Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), steel producer United States Steel Corporation (NYSE:X), and retail stock Tilly's Inc (NYSE:TLYS). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on shares of TSLA, X, and TLYS.
TSLA Stock Remains Top Pick at Baird
Baird said Tesla stock is still its "Top Pick" for the second half, and reiterated its "outperform" rating and $368 price target -- a 21% premium to last night's close at $303.86, and well above the security's May 2 record peak of $327.66. What's more, the brokerage firm said it believes "a successful Model 3 launch will be an inflection point for the stock," and could theoretically have TSLA fetching $500 per share.
In response, TSLA stock is up 0.9% in electronic trading, on track to add to its already impressive 42.2% year-to-date advance. There's ample cash on the sidelines to help fuel Tesla's fire, too. Short interest accounts for a whopping 26.4% of the equity's available float, or 6.8 times TSLA's average daily pace of trading.
Credit Suisse Upgrades X Stock After Trump Budget
Just one day after seeing its price target cut at BofA-Merrill Lynch, U.S. Steel stock was upgraded to "outperform" from "neutral" at Credit Suisse. The brokerage firm also raised its rating on the steel sector to "overweight" from "market weight" ahead of today's industry review by the U.S. Commerce Department.
It's been a rough road for X stock, which is down 38.3% year-to-date. However, the stock closed back above the round $20 mark yesterday -- settling at $20.38 -- after President Donald Trump's 2018 budget proposal included plans for infrastructure spending. X options traders bet on even more gains through Friday's close, too, and bought to open weekly 5/26 21.50-strike calls. This morning, U.S. Steel shares are trading up 2% ahead of the bell.
TLYS Stock Set for Bull Gap After Earnings, Upgrade
Baird upgraded TLYS stock to "buy," after the retailer reported a first-quarter loss of 1 cent per share on $120.9 million in revenue. Analysts were expecting Tilly's to record a per-share loss of 10 cents on sales of $114.4 million. Against this backdrop, Tilly's stock is set to jump 20% out of the gate, after closing last night at $8.58.
Heading into today's trading, TLYS stock was staring at a 31.3% year-to-date deficit, and a number of short sellers have been exiting their winning positions. Short interest on the equity plunged 35.6% in the most recent reporting period, and now accounts for less than 5% of Tilly's available float.