Why Tesla Puts The S&P Selection Committee 'In A Real Bind'
the stock’s eligibility for the S&P 500, which bulls say would force a tremendous amount of buying volume in the stock.” data-reactid=”19″>One of the most common explanations for the frenzy of buying in Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) in 2020 has been the stock’s eligibility for the S&P 500, which bulls say would force a tremendous amount of buying volume in the stock.
DataTrek Research co-founder Nicholas Colas on Monday said the case to include Tesla in the S&P 500 is far from cut and dry, and the impact it could have on the stock market may not necessarily be positive.
met the qualifications for inclusion in the S&P 500 for the first time when the company reported a profitable second quarter, bringing its trailing four-quarter GAAP net income into positive territory. However, Colas said the S&P eligibility commission may be troubled by the fact that Tesla reported $782 million in 100%-margin automotive regulatory credit sales in the second quarter compared to just $220 million in net income.” data-reactid=”21″>Questionable Profitability: Tesla met the qualifications for inclusion in the S&P 500 for the first time when the company reported a profitable second quarter, bringing its trailing four-quarter GAAP net income into positive territory. However, Colas said the S&P eligibility commission may be troubled by the fact that Tesla reported $782 million in 100%-margin automotive regulatory credit sales in the second quarter compared to just $220 million in net income.
“This puts the S&P committee in charge of adding names to the 500 in a real bind, because while to the letter of their ‘law’ Tesla qualifies for inclusion this is purely due to regulatory arbitrage – not fundamental profitability from designing, manufacturing and selling cars,” Colas said.
In fact, Colas said Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s commentary on Tesla’s second-quarter earnings call suggested even a relatively mild decline in demand could easily push Tesla back into negative net income territory.
“We’ve read concerns this move could cause a temporary dip in the US equity market as it resets the other 504 stocks in the ‘500’ to accommodate index funds’ need to sell them on rebalancing day,” Colas said.
He said the issues surrounding Tesla’s potential inclusion in the S&P 500 may highlight a need for Standard & Poors to reconsider its profitability requirements.
Analyst Raises Tesla Bull-Case Target To ,500, Sees EPS Potential In China Alone ” data-reactid=”33″>Analyst Raises Tesla Bull-Case Target To ,500, Sees EPS Potential In China Alone
Latest Ratings for TSLA
Date | Firm | Action | From | To |
---|---|---|---|---|
Aug 2020 | Wedbush | Maintains | Neutral | |
Aug 2020 | B of A Securities | Upgrades | Underperform | Neutral |
Aug 2020 | Morgan Stanley | Upgrades | Underweight | Equal-Weight |
View Article Origin Here