As TeslaInc TSLA shares continued to sliptoward Morgan Stanley'sbear case, analyst Adam Jonas started to wonder if Tesla was leaning into value territory.
A member of CNBC's "Halftime Report" panel suggestedJonas must havebeen on LSD or anotherpsychoactive drugthat producedaltered states of consciousnesswhen he started thinking about the Elon Musk-led company as a value play.
What To Know: Jonas reiterated hisOverweight rating and $330 price target onTesla stock Wednesday morning.
"Tesla is approaching our $150 bear case driven by price cuts in China, decelerating EV demand, and other market currents," Jonas wrote in a new note to clients.
"A value opportunity emerging?"
Related Link:Tesla Seeing $500B Eroded From Valuation In 2 Months Is Buy Opportunity: Analyst Sees 100% Upside
Why It Matters: Gilman Hill Asset Management'sJenny Harringtonwas taken aback by Jonas' use of the word "value."
"I think you pretty much need to be on hallucinogenic drugs to make any viable argument that Tesla is a discount right now or is a value stock," Harrington said Wednesday on CNBC's "Halftime Report."
She immediately pointed tothe valuations of Tesla competitorsFord Motor Company F andGeneral Motors Company GM . Ford is currently trading with a forward price-to-earnings ratio of about 7.6, according toBenzinga Pro. GM is even cheaper, trading around 6.5 timeson a forward earnings basis.
On the other hand, Tesla's price-to-earnings ratio on a forward basis currently sits above 31.
"Even if you look at next year's Tesla earnings … there's no version of this that's value," Harrington said with a laugh, noting that Tesla wasexpected to earn about $6 per share next year.
"If you want to be super speculative and say hey that $6 is going to grow to $60,fine go dream … but you cannot call it a value stock."
TSLA Price Action: Teslastock was up 7.82% at $183.20at market close Wednesday according toBenzinga Pro.Tesla has a 52-week high of $402.67 and a 52-week low of $166.19.
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Photo: Courtesy of Tesla.
