Wedbush boosts Tesla target to $1,250 with new bull case of $2,000

Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives raised the firm's price target on Tesla to $1,250 from $1,000 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. The analyst's "bull case" is now $2,000. Tesla closed Wednesday up $39.82 to $1,119.63. With demand for Model 3's "ramping stronger than expectations" in China heading into the summer, the lockdown easing in the U.S. and Europe, and some potentially "game changing" battery developments on the horizon, Tesla's stock "likely has room to run further," Ives tells investors in a research note. The analyst believes the "main fundamental catalyst" for the stock continues to be the "massive" China market, which he notes is showing "clear signs of a spike in demand." The Street is looking for 70,000 deliveries in Q2, and with a "very strong end to the quarter likely," Tesla could now be in the 85,000 to 90,000. Such a range could put the company's bottom-line" in the area code of breakeven," which is a "jaw dropping feat in a dark macro and COVID backdrop," contends Ives. The analyst's new price target reflects "increased confidence in the Tesla story and delivery trajectory." Further, he believes the China growth story is worth at least $300 per share and $400 in a bull case to Tesla.