Analyst Patrick Hummel kept his price target at $ 1,100 while upgrading the stock. Tesla TSLA, + 1.25% shares, down 31% year-on-year, rose more than 3% in pre-market trading. Hummel said the business outlook is stronger than ever, with a record number of unfulfilled orders and two new gigafactories growing. He cut his 2022 earnings per share target to 12% to explain the lockdown in Shanghai. In the process, he says, Tesla’s vertical integration into semiconductors, software and batteries will result in higher growth and profitability in the coming years. “Tesla can outperform its peers with a combination of internal capacity, its pioneer over global competitors in the use of LFP cells and its high share of direct-battery products, mainly lithium,” he said. Tesla’s alleged plan to cut 10% of its employees did not implement Hummel. “For a company that is growing so fast, there is always the risk of gaining too much weight in general operations and the mild macroeconomic outlook is a good reason to accelerate performance efforts, in our view,” he said. Tesla shares have suffered not only because of the broader slide in technology stocks, but also because CEO Elon Musk’s pursuit of Twitter TWTR, + 0.77%, using pledged Tesla stocks to fund its offering. Musk is called a major danger to humans. “Elon Musk remains the key figure at Tesla, with all the risks associated with it,” he said. “The actions, the posts on social media, etc. they are extremely unpredictable. “
