Why a ‘battle-weary’ Tesla enthusiast is now telling investors to move to the sidelines – MarketWatch, Marketwatch.com

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Now that US-Iran tensions have cooled a bit, it may be time to revisit predictions fromsome strategists last yearthat said equities are primed for big gains in the first quarter.

They may have been onto something. The Nasdaq Composite                                                                                                                                                                                                                      COMP, 0. (****************************************************************************************************%                                                                                                                                                          nailed a record close on Wednesday, while the S&P 500                                                                                                                                                                                                                      SPX, 0. (**********************************************************************************************%                                                                                                                                                          could be headed for one today, judging by positive futures action. News that China’s Vice Premier Liu Hewill sign a “Phase 1” trade dealin Washington next week is also inspiring investors.

Also shooting to a new high on Wednesday were shares of electric-car maker Tesla                                                                                                                                                                                                                      TSLA, 4. %,                                                                                                                                                           whose market capitalization is nowbigger than Ford Motor’s at its peak.

That brings us to ourcall of the dayfrom Baird analysts Ben Kallo and David Katter, who have downgraded Tesla to a neutral rating after a longtime overweight, or bullish position, on the shares. In a note to clients, they said it is time to cash in on some of the big gains the automobile maker has seen.

“We are moving to the sidelines, admittedly battle-weary after a hard-fought several years, including [approximately] 20% outperformance over the last year, ”said the team, who spoke of“ contentious arguments with (evidently) high-conviction bears. ”

Note the analysts lifted their share target to $ from $ 525 – shares closed just shy of $ 500 on Wednesday.

They said risk / reward for Tesla shares is looking more balanced following recent gains — up 500% in the last 6 m onths, nearly (****************************************************************************************************************% year-to-date. And while some analysts have been turningincreasingly optimisticon the company future, they think that process may be in the Recent stages.

Baird analysts added that Tesla stock is now reflecting lots of progress the company has made over the past two years, both operationally and financially. They mentioned such pluses as the new Shanghai factory and an “extremely compelling product line,” including the Model Y, the Tesla Semi Roadster and the Pickup.

But they stopped short of suggesting investors bet on shares to fall over the long run. They said even amid bearish arguments by some, “the company has continued to grow and execute (albeit on a slower timeline than projected, at times) and we expect this will continue.”

The market

Dow                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

YM (****************************************************************************************************************************, 0. 31%,                                                                                                                                                           S&P                                                                                                                                                                                                                      ******************** (ES) **************************************************************************************************************************, 0. 29%**********                                                                                                                                                          and Nasdaq – 525                                                                                                                                                                                                                      (NQ) ****************************************************************************************************************************, 0 . 57%**********                                                                                                                                                          futures are higher, with European stocks                                                                                                                                                                                                                      ************************ (SXXP, 0.

**************************************************************************************** (%)

                                                                                                                                                         on track for a record sessionafter Wednesday’s upbeat day on Wall Street. Asian markets                                                                                                                                                                                                                      ************** (ADOW, 1.**************************************************************************************%                                                                                                                                                          also rebounded. Gold                                                                                                                                                                                                                      ******************** (GC) ,– 0. (********************************************************************************************************%                                                                                                                                                          is pulling back from what’s been a big run this week.

The tweet

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         (************************************                       ****************************** I guess “Appear” is the new Major Term. We “Appear” to have eased Tensions with Iran. We “Appear” to have a US / China Trade deal. What is “Actual” is the

$ spxheld the 8day and is opening at a new ATH with lots of stocks acting Great. Trim and trail- Scott Redler (@ RedDogT3) (January 9,           (******************************************                                    

The chart

Investors putting money into Apple                                                                                                                                                                                                                       AAPL, 1. (****************************************************************************************************%**********                                                                                                                                                          shares a year ago would have doubled their money, according to this chart tweeted by Byron Lotter, portfolio manager at Vestact Asset Management.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         (************************************                        If you had bought Apple shares exactly one year ago you would have doubled your money. And that excludes dividends. Quite astonishing considering the size and scale of the business. pic. twitter.com/yRzehldC1q— Byron Lotter (@Byron_vestact) (January 9,

********************************************************************           (******************************************                                    

Lotter said while some attribute the share rise to renewed popularity for Apple products in China, he thinks its services division is a star player. He cited acompany statisticthat shows $ 1. A billion was spent on the app store between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, while he’s also positive on Apple Music and Apple TV. An “incredible business… still has legs,” he told clients in a note.

The buzz

Bed Bath & Beyond shares                                                                                                                                                                                                                      BBBY,– 1. (******************************************************************************************************************%                                                                                                                                                          are tumbling after the housewares retailerreported a big quarterly missand pulled its outlook.

Watch shares of HP                                                                                                                                                                                                                      (HPQ, 1.********************************************************************************** (%)                                                                                                                                                          after the printer and personal computer maker againrejected a takeover bid by Xerox                                                                                                                                                                                                                      (XRX,– 0.%.                                                                                                                                                           

Ahead of Friday’s nonfarm payroll data, we’ll get weekly jobless claims before the open.

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