Tesla stock, after suffering its worst one-day loss in 11 months Tuesday, rallied Wednesday as some analysts still see the EV giant as a "best idea" investment in 2023.
Tesla stock plunged more than 11% to 109.01 Tuesday amid a Shanghai plant shutdown and weak China sales data. However, at least some analysts remain bullish on TSLA. On Wednesday, Baird Equity Research's Ben Kallo cut his Tesla price target to 252, down from 316. That puts the target more than 130% above Tuesday closing price, and Kallo touted Tesla as a "Best Idea" stock for investors in 2023.
Last week, six analysts cut price targets on TSLA shares. However, targets remain well above Tesla stock's current price level, and analysts have broadly maintained buy and outperform ratings.
Tesla Stock 2023: EV Giant Faces Big Challenges In Its Two Megamarkets
Kallo's bullish view on Tesla comes as TSLA shares have shed 42% since the beginning of December amid heavy volume. Tesla stock advanced 3.3% to 112.71 in Wednesday's market trade.
Kallo said investors should not be overly concerned with weakening demand early in 2023. The analyst wrote that Tesla "has many demand levers to pull including an increase in vehicle leasing and additional supercharging incentives."
Kallo added Tesla is best positioned in the auto market as electric vehicles continue to take share of the total market.
Baird's bullish view on Tesla stock follows Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives on Tuesday also expressing optimism for the EV giant.
Tesla Stock Is Still A Buy For Analysts
Ives, a longtime Tesla bull, has recently and repeatedly expressed his concern with CEO Elon Musk. Since Musk took over Twitter, analysts have said the billionaire's tweets and the news cycle surrounding him is hurting Tesla investors. Musk has used Twitter to make political statements and interact with people across the political spectrum.
Ives has called Musk's Twitter endeavor a "soap opera" and a "fiasco" that is causing "brand deterioration for Musk and Tesla." Last week, Ives cut his Tesla stock price target to 175 from 250, keeping an "outperform" rating for the shares.
However, on Tuesday, Ives sounded more optimistic. The analyst wrote that around 70% of the recent Tesla stock sell-off is due to the reaction to Musk and Twitter.
"It would be easy for us (and other bulls) to throw in the towel here and view the near-term headwinds as too fierce to overcome for the stock to work in 2023," Ives wrote.
The analyst added if Musk refocuses on Tesla and stops selling TSLA shares "then this stock has bottomed in our opinion and works from here."
"However, any further Musk strategic missteps will be carefully scrutinized by the Street and further weigh on shares," he wrote.
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