Tesla (TSLA -1.11%) stock has slid 56% from its high in 2021. A series of product price cuts to keep demand up in a weak automotive environment, on top of increasing competition in the electric vehicle (EV) market, has tested the stock market's patience.
While the lack of near-term growth catalysts has weighed on the stock's performance, at least one Wall Street analyst remains bullish about Tesla. Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas recently maintained an overweight (buy) rating on the stock, although he did lower his price target from $345 a share to $320. The new price target still represents a substantial 80% upside from the current share price of $178.
Is Tesla stock a buy?
The stock hit an all-time high of $414 in early November 2021, and it's been on a volatile slide downward since then. Given the current headwinds pushing against Tesla, it might take a while for the stock to navigate its way to new highs. Jonas said he doesn't see Tesla making much progress yet, as he cited an over-supplied EV market in China as the main problem that will continue to cause price competition, and therefore, weigh on Tesla's revenue growth in the near term.
Long-term investors will have to be patient with Tesla this year. Even CEO Elon Musk has warned in previous earnings calls that rising interest rates will be a headwind for the company.
But if you have at least a five-year time horizon, the stock price dip could prove to be an excellent buying opportunity. Tesla is far from done growing in the EV market. It delivered 1.8 million vehicles last year, which is a small percentage of total car sales.
Moreover, Tesla is already a profitable manufacturer, but it is also building potentially lucrative revenue streams from software and artificial intelligence capabilities for its self-driving cars that gets overshadowed by the weakness in EV sales. Investors who ignore the short-term obstacles and patiently hold the stock should come out ahead.
