Goldman Sachs Raises Tesla's Price Target A Month After Cutting It, Still Remains Bearish

Two of Tesla Inc TSLA’s biggest critics were forced to eat a little crow on Wednesday when the company reported a narrower-than-expected per-share loss, said it burned through significantly less cash than expected and reiterated its aggressive Model 3 production targets.

Almost a month ago, Goldman Sachs analyst David Tamberrino cut the firm’s price target for Tesla from $190 to $180, implying roughly 50 percent downside for the stock. The same day, Citron Research's Andrew Left discussed shorting Tesla on CNBC.

Following Thursday morning’s move, Tesla shares are now up 6 percent since that July 5 close, and bulls who took a Goldman/Citron contrarian position are sitting on solid gains.

For what it’s worth, Tamberrino raised his price target for Tesla on Thursday to $200. While he admitted Tesla delivered impressive auto gross margins and improving Model S and Model X order rates, nothing changed about his bearish long-term thesis.

“We remain Sell rated as we see downside potential to the Model 3 launch curve, which we expect will likely drive disappointing Auto gross margins, and further cash burn,” Tamberrino wrote, repeating almost verbatim his bearish argument a month ago.

Related Link: Model 3 Vs. Chevy Bolt: A Line-By-Line Comparison

Tesla has given Goldman fits in the past year.

Goldman first downgraded Tesla from Buy to Neutral back in October of 2016, lowering its price target from $240 to $185. In the three months that followed, Tesla shares surged 13.9 percent. Goldman then downgraded the stock again from Neutral to Sell on February 27, lowering its price target to $185. Tesla stock then proceeded to spike 32 percent in the three months that followed.

So far, Tamberrino’s bearish June call is looking equally bad for Goldman. At time of publication, Tesla traded around $346.50 per share. The stock is up 62 percent this year.