⚈ Analyst Gordon Johnson raised concerns of market manipulation, citing an activity of suspicious options and calling for a dry survey
⚈ The feeling of investors rebounded after Elon Musk announced a more active role in Tesla, although leadership concerns and political controversies continue to arouse debate
Tesla's stock price (Nasdaq: TSLA) increased in contempt for the disappointing benefits of the first quarter, which prompted an analyst at Wall Street to suggest that the rally can be motivated by the manipulation of the market.
After a few weeks of difficulty, partly due to the reaction against CEO Elon Musk for his political opinions, TSLA resumed momentum at the top shortly after the call for results of the first quarter of 2024.
During the quarter, Tesla declared revenues of $ 19.34 billion, compared to about $ 21.11 billion, while car income dropped by $ 20% to $ 17.4 billion in the same period last year.
Despite these setbacks, Tesla's shares have climbed more than 25% since the press release.
At the end of the last session, TSLA shares were negotiated at $ 287.21, up 2.38%. During the last month, equity joined more than 7%.
Tesla actions handling complaints
Now, Gordon Johnson, a known Tesla Bear, underlined the unexpected rally of action as proof of a suspicious activity, calling for an investigation by Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), he said in an X Post on May 3.
Johnson expressed the incredulity to the rally, by comparing the performance of the electric vehicle manufacturer (EV) to that of NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) and suggesting that a similar lack of the flea manufacturer would probably trigger a 50% drop in a day.
“With the horrible results of the first quarter, and the stock that goes immediately afterwards, it is quite clear, at this stage, the stock is manipulated in one way or another,” said Johnson.
He hypothesized that the trading tactics of options, in particular a “gamma pressure”, could artificially inflate the course of Tesla's action.
Return of musk to Tesla
The rally coincides with the renewed optimism of investors after the announcement by Musk of its return to a more active role with Tesla.
Musk, who had shared his objective on several companies, including a recent and controversial role in the Donald Trump administration under the Ministry of Government efficiency, returns at a time when the company doubles its efforts in autonomous driving and the widening of its complete self-commissioned technology (FSD).
This announcement was welcomed by other Wall Street analysts, such as Dan Ives, which remains optimistic about the electric vehicle manufacturer.
In particular, Tesla could face more winds, because a recent report suggests that the company's board of directors began to seek a new leader due to concerns about the role of Musk in the Trump government. To this end, Ives rejected the potential leadership drama.
“We believe that Musk is back in the heads of drivers in Tesla and this shows how the situation was held between the board of directors and musk … in our thoughts in the last month,” said Ives.
Meanwhile, a consensus of Wall Street analysts Tipranks Presents a slowdown in TSLA in the next 12 months. The 36 experts set an average price target of $ 283, which implies a downside of 1.23% compared to the current evaluation.
Star image via Shutterstock
