Tesla Stock Is Rising as It Gets a New Vote of Confidence From Wall Street

Tesla just won a fresh vote of confidence from Bank of America.

Shares of Tesla (TSLA) were recently up more than 3% at around $405, as the bank reinstated its coverage of the electric vehicle maker with a “buy” rating Wednesday.

The analysts told clients they view Tesla as “the current leader in consumer autonomy,” pointing to its advances in autonomous driving and robotics as reasons for the upgrade, along with expectations that Tesla could gain share in a tougher regulatory environment for electric vehicles.

“We expect TSLA to quickly become a leader in robotaxi services, given its ability to scale more profitably than competitors,” Bank of America wrote. The analysts added they also see further upside from growing adoption of the company’s full-self driving software, Optimus humanoid robots and energy storage business.

Based on its “sum-of-the parts” analysis, BofA issued a $460 price target, suggesting roughly 14% upside from Tesla’s recent levels. That’s a bit higher than the $445 consensus target for the stock, which remains a divisive one on Wall Street. Just slightly more than half of the analysts with current ratings tracked by Visible Alpha recommend buying the shares.

Even with Wednesday’s gains, Tesla shares have lost nearly one-fifth of their value since hitting a record high in December.