Here's what every major analyst had to say about Tesla's big earnings beat

Published Thu, Jan 30 20208:51 AM ESTUpdated Thu, Jan 30 20204:06 PM EST

Michael Sheetz @in/michaeljsheetz @thesheetztweetz

(This story is for CNBC PRO subscribers only.) Tesla beat Wall Street's quarterly earnings expectations and the stock is surging but many major analysts were unmoved by the report and are sticking by their bearish position. While analysts all noted Tesla's strong performance, as well as its recent blistering stock rally, only a handful adjusted their investment recommendation of the stock. "The bull narrative has shifted from Tesla disrupting multiple industries to Tesla being a profitable and growing next-generation automaker. Even if one were to stipulate that as true, we believe the shares are sharply overvalued as an automotive [manufacturer]," Barclays analyst Brian Johnson wrote. Likewise, Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi said that the risk for investors, both to the upside and the downside, makes Tesla untenable. "On net, we believe Tesla is simultaneously too hard to short without a discernible catalyst ... but also too expensive and risky to initiate a significant overweight," Sacconaghi said. Tesla share rose 10.3% in trading to close at $640.81. Here's what every major analyst said about Tesla's earnings. Bernstein's Toni Sacconaghi – Market-perform, $325 price target "There remains lots to be bullish about at Tesla: The brand/customer halo remains unparalleled in the auto world, akin to Apple's ... and we continue to believe Tesla's direct model can be a sustainable advantage vs. competitors, allowing it to shape demand through pricing and create more intimate customer relationships ... Medium term, we see several key unknowns to monitor, including: (1) potential Model 3 cannibalization by the Model Y ... On net, we believe Tesla is simultaneously too hard to short without a discernable catalyst – it is hard to fight a religious war, after all - but also too expensive and risky to initiate a significant overweight." Morgan Stanley's Adam Jonas – Underweight, $360 price target "Outlook, while not extremely surprising, hit all the key points needed to potentially keep the rally going towards our $650 bull case ... The company targets positive FCF and GAAP net income going forward, but highlighted the risk of 'possible temporary exceptions.' We are encouraged that the 2020 guide included this language during a time of rapid expansion and execution risk ... This quarter may be seen as the moment a new genre of tech investors were waiting to perceive Tesla through a new narrative: as a profitable and cash generative tech company with a reasonably-sized market cap in the same discussion as the megatech 'platform' names." JP Morgan's Ryan Brinkman – Underweight rating, raised price target to $260 from $240 "Tesla shares appear poised for another rally Thursday after the company modestly exceeded expectations with regard to 4Q19 res