TSLA stock has struggled with resistance at the $310 level -- site of the average analyst price target
Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock is up 2.9% to trade at $284.82 this morning, after Berenberg raised its price target to $500 from $470, the highest among brokerages covering the stock and a nearly 76% premium to current levels. The analyst in coverage believes Tesla's Model 3 gross margin will surprise investors, and expects the electric car company to "remain the battery technology leader." In addition, CEO Elon Musk over the weekend unveiled a new high-performance Model 3, priced at $78,000.
The ambitious price target from Berenberg comes less than one week after a bearish brokerage note from Morgan Stanley. On the charts, Tesla stock has struggled, shedding 15% in the last nine months and falling to an annual low of $244.59 on April 2. Last week was the equity's worst week since late March, and the $310 level has stifled the shares since then.
As such, most analysts remain skeptical of the security, with just six of the 17 in coverage recommending it as a "buy." The average 12-month price target, meanwhile, is just below the aforementioned $310 level.
In the options pits, put buying has been unusually popular in recent months. Data from the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) shows the security's 50-day put/call volume ratio at 0.98, ranking in the elevated 92nd percentile of its annual range. This suggests that puts have been bought over calls at a much faster-than-usual clip during the past 10 weeks.