Tesla Stock Is Reaching a Breaking Point, Analyst Says. Plus, Vertical Aerospace, OPKO Health, and More. -- Barrons.com

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These reports, excerpted and edited by Barron's, were issued recently by investment and research firms. The reports are a sampling of analysts' thinking; they should not be considered the views or recommendations of Barron's. Some of the reports' issuers have provided, or hope to provide, investment-banking or other services to the companies being analyzed.

Vertical Aerospace -- EVTL-NYSE Buy -- $3.39 on March 12 by Canaccord Genuity We are maintaining our Buy rating on shares of Vertical Aerospace and our $13.50 price target. Vertical still boasts the second-largest aircraft backlog in the industry and remains the lone European survivor among electric vertical takeoff and landing, or eVTOL, competitors, providing the company an enviable competitive moat, considering that American competitors won't be able to export initial FAA powered lift-certified aircraft to the region for some time.

With the return of former (aircraft lessor) Avolon CEO Domhnal Slattery as chairman, we expect to see meaningful conversions of bankrupt competitors' backlogs (particularly Lilium's bizjet/luxury charter and airline shuttle customers) to Vertical's backlog, which should ultimately result in an uptick in firm orders....It is apparent that the company will require additional capital that we have contemplated in our estimated discounted cash flow through 2035, which also includes revenue assumptions for aftermarket battery sales and service (Some 420 million pounds by 2035).

OPKO Health -- OPK-Nasdaq Buy -- $1.80 on March 12 by H.C. Wainwright Yesterday, OPKO Health announced that it has entered into an agreement for Labcorp to acquire laboratory testing businesses focused on oncology and oncology-related clinical testing services across the U.S. from BioReference Health, a wholly owned subsidiary of OPKO. The assets being acquired by Labcorp currently generate $85 million to $100 million in annual revenue. The purchase price includes $192.5 million payable at closing and up to $32.5 million in an earn-out based on performance....

This transaction could help BioReference streamline its operations and potentially accelerate its path toward profitability, in our view. Management expects to close the transaction in the second half of 2025. We believe that OPKO may use part of the proceeds from the transaction to pay down some of its outstanding debt. Management hasn't provided an update of 2025 financial guidance at this time. We have adjusted our 2025 projections, and we reiterate our Buy rating and $3 price target.

Sprinklr -- CXM-NYSE Perform -- $8.08 on March 12 by Oppenheimer Sprinklr executed well in fiscal fourth-quarter 2025 with strong operating and free-cash-flow margin guidance that exceeded Street expectations, suggesting good momentum with the new CEO's cost-optimization initiatives and focus on business efficiency. Additionally, management provided positive commentary on its back-to-base strategy with strategic accounts, increasing sales capacity, and investing in its core technology suite for contact center as a service, or CCaaS, and social support.

On balance, the business had a lower seasonal beat magnitude on subscription and displayed its slowest current remaining performance obligation, or cRPO, billings growth rate since the initial public offering [in June 2021]. Maintain Perform rating.

CuriosityStream -- CURI-Nasdaq Market Perform -- $2.58 on March 12 by Barrington Research The progress of CuriosityStream [an American media company and over-the-top subscription video-streaming service] toward profitability and confidence expressed in further increasing its cash dividend is encouraging.

While the current quarter's dividend represents more than a 100% payout ratio on the company's first-ever positive free cash flow, the expectation of continued growth in revenue for 2025 suggests some confidence in reaching a sustainable payout level, and potential for additional growth. CuriosityStream has the cushion of a very clean balance sheet that includes $38 million of cash and no debt.

Tesla -- TSLA-Nasdaq Sell -- $230.58 on March 12 by Guggenheim Headlines for Tesla will likely get worse before they get better, with a negative first-quarter delivery print, first-quarter gross margin downside (though we could end above buy-side, all said and done), new model launches that are less accretive to the total addressable market versus bullish expectations, and a June Robotaxi launch that could be underwhelming in terms of scope (particularly as Waymo scales). With that context, Telsa stock has been momentum up, and momentum down, and we expect the near-term trend to remain negative.

While we appreciate excitement around Robotaxis, we believe that the stock is reaching a breaking point, where numbers start to matter. Based on our current model, Tesla has little room left to reduce price before free cash flow flips negative.

We are lowering our target price to $170 from $175 on lower estimates.

Silicon Laboratories -- SLAB-Nasdaq Buy -- $123.80 on March 12 by Needham Yesterday, we attended Silicon Laboratories' analyst day in New York City. During the presentation, management provided guidance for calendar-year 2025 revenue growth "above 20%." With calendar-year 2025 Street consensus up 34% to 35% year over year, we believe this comment drove the stock lower midday. Importantly, based on our conversations, we believe management is comfortable with current Street estimates.

We are buyers on the weakness. Price target: $150.

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March 14, 2025 18:40 ET (22:40 GMT)

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