Tesla shares will rally 50% to $800, says Street's biggest bull on the stock

Published Tue, Jan 21 20209:38 AM ESTUpdated Tue, Jan 21 20204:06 PM EST

Shares of Tesla have more than doubled over the last 3 months, and New Street Research believes strong demand and management execution will drive shares even higher. On Tuesday the firm raised its target on the stock to a Street high of $800, which is roughly 57% above where shares currently trade. "The best is still to come," analyst Pierre Ferragu said in a note to clients. He is one of more than a dozen Wall Street analysts that have adjusted their rating on the stock since the beginning of the year after shares surged higher. This includes Deutsche Bank, Jefferies and Oppenheimer raising their targets to $455, $600 and $612 respectively, as well as Morgan Stanley downgrading the stock to an underweight rating . New Street Research's bull case centers on what the firm says is Tesla's dominance in electric vehicle technology, as well as strong demand from customers and management execution. The firm has a buy rating on the stock, and its prior target was $530. On the technology side Ferragu said that over the last few years Tesla has "worked on every single element of its electric power train," and that based on the company's integrated production model it is 7 years ahead of competitors. "Most premium brands have announced multiple new cars over the past year, all ranking below Tesla on all dimensions (efficiency, range, acceleration, weight), and commercial and industrial traction is poor, with orders in the 10's of thousands of units at best," he said. Part of the stock's recent surge — shares are up more than 20% this month — is due to the company's record 112,000 vehicle deliveries in the fourth quarter. The Street had been expecting 106,000. Ferragu also said that the company has "industry leading gross margins," while noting that it is a "cash machine" and has a strong production capacity outlook. His $800 target is well above the Street average of $378, according to estimates from FactSet. Despite Tesla's surge over the last few months, the stock has had its fair share of volatility, which Ferragu anticipates will continue in the future. "The stock will remain volatile, as the spread between bull and bear cases remains wide, and God only knows what the next controversy will be," he said. Shares gained 7% on Tuesday. The company reports fourth quarter results on Jan. 29 after the market closes.