Tesla has taken another tumble this week.
The stock has fallen 4% since Monday, extending a sell-off that has dragged shares down nearly 40% from a high set in January. The latest sell-off is tied to the sharp drop in bitcoin – Tesla CEO Elon Musk last week said the company would reverse a decision to allow purchases made with the cryptocurrency, but since clarified it will still hold its investment in the coin.
Tesla could see more pain, warned one chart watcher.
“It broke below trend, and we have to remember, when we analyze stocks such as Tesla, they are prone to overreact — overreact on the upside, as well as overreact on the downside,” said JC O’Hara, chief market technician at MKM Partners.
“When Tesla was in an uptrend, above its 200-day moving average, those overreactions were indeed positive and we just look back to January to see how stretched it can get. Now trends have shifted, breaking below the 200-day moving average, breaking below a long-term uptrend. So I believe the overreaction will be to the downside,” O’Hara told CNBC’s “Trading Nation” on Wednesday.
Shares have fallen 20% this year, the worst performance in the S&P 100. It has also broken below its 50-day and 200-day moving average.
“We’re right around $550 right now, good place for a short little bounce, but I would want to see the overreaction down to $450. I think that’s the proper level to get back involved with Tesla,” he said.
A move to $450 implies another 20% downside. It last traded at that level last November. It closed Wednesday just above $563.
Delano Saporu, founder of New Street Advisors, says the tide has turned against all growth stocks — and Tesla is particularly susceptible as a well-known name in the group.
“The backdrop is really against Tesla right now, for a lot of growth names, so we’re seeing the sellers come out in force. And I think the one thing that would kind of bring buyers out, especially myself, would be looking at the valuation,” Saporu said during the same interview.
Tesla trades at 109 times forward earnings, well above the 21 times forward multiple for the S&P 500.
“We had strong earnings from Tesla and that still didn’t move the stock higher. Everything else in the backdrop is just against some of these growth names right now,” said Saporu.
Tesla reported record net income and 74% revenue growth in its March-ended quarter.