Tesla'TSLA.US s Q4 delivery data was dazzlingly praised by Wall Street analysts

On Sunday, Tesla announced that it delivered 308,600 vehicles worldwide in the fourth quarter of last year, breaking the company's previous record and about 15% higher than market expectations, which pushed Tesla's total annual sales of more than 936,000 vehicles, an increase of about 87% from the delivery volume of just under 500,000 vehicles in 2020. According to the survey, market analysts average expect Tesla vehicle sales to be about 263,000 units in the quarter. Tesla's brilliant delivery data for the fourth quarter was endorsed by Wall Street analysts, and most analysts affirmed the delivery data.

Damo: "Overweight" rating, target price of $1200

Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas gave Tesla an "overweight" rating with a price target of $1200. Jonas said the company will deliver more than 1.2 million vehicles a year before the Austin and Berlin plants officially begin deliveries. He expects the plants in Austin and Berlin to be "much larger" than those in Fremont and Shanghai.

Jonas told investors in a research note that in addition to the increase in Q4 sales, the reduction in the proportion of vehicles shipped out of Fremont has also brought economic benefits. The analyst estimated gross margins at the Fremont plant to be 20 percent and the Shanghai plant to be 40 percent, but he believes the opening of the Berlin and Austin plants "provides an opportunity to achieve higher gross margins." Jonas said that while sales of 2 million units in 2022 is still an "extended target," it looks "more realistic" after the release of strong delivery figures for the fourth quarter.

Wedbush: "Outperform" rating with a target price of $1400

Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives rated Tesla as "outperforming the broader market" with a price target of $1400. Ives noted that Tesla's announced Q4 deliveries even exceeded Wall Street's bullish expectations; For the company, it was a "bragging rights" quarter, with "strong momentum" set to continue into 2022.

Ives noted that this strong momentum was driven by strong sales of the Model 3/Y, which sold 297,000 units compared to Wall Street's expectation of 252,000 units; The Model S/X sold 12,000 units, compared to Wall Street's expectation of 13,000 units. Ives added that the delivery figures are "a big surprise" as the global automotive market is suffering from issues such as chip shortages and logistics congestion, suggesting that Tesla's demand trajectory for electric vehicles looks strong in 2022. His bullish target for Tesla in 2022 is $1800.

Bernstein: "Outperformed" rating with a price target of $300

Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi rated Tesla as "outperforming the broader market" with a target share price of $300. Sacconaghi noted that Tesla's fourth-quarter deliveries were better than expected; He added that deliveries for the full year of 2021 grew 87 percent year-over-year, well above Tesla's goal of "over 50 percent." Sacconaghi believes Tesla's deliveries are "impressive," reflecting improved capacity and high capacity utilization at Tesla's existing facilities despite challenges for parts and supply chains across the industry.

Sacconaghi noted that Tesla's demand indicators remain strong, especially in the U.S. market. Second, Sacconaghi believes that given the sales impact and price increases, he believes Tesla will achieve strong profitability this quarter and sees some structural factors that should help improve gross margins in 2022. While Sacconaghi acknowledges Tesla's success and believes Tesla's stock price is likely to continue to rise in the near term, he is still trying to justify the company's valuation.

Xiao Mo: "Reduce" rating, raised the target price to $295

JPMorgan analyst Ryan Brinkman raised Tesla's price target from $250 to $295 and maintained a "down". After Tesla reported that Q4 deliveries were "well above expectations," the analyst raised his price target. In the fourth quarter, Tesla's Q4 deliveries exceeded Brinkman's modeled 227,586 units at the time of the third-quarter results release. The analyst now forecasts the company's fourth-quarter earnings per share at $2.22, up from the previous forecast of $1.54 and also above the analyst consensus expectation of $1.98. He also deduced that the high delivery rate in the fourth quarter would also continue into the coming quarters, resulting in higher operating leverage that had been expected.