Tesla (TSLA) shares began the new year with a 13% daily gain after the electric vehicle (EV) giant's fourth quarter vehicle deliveries smashed estimates. The stock closed at $1199.78 on Monday.
The company delivered a record 308,600 cars during the last three months. Its deliveries shot up 87% year-over-year to 936,172 for all of 2021.
Tesla's impressive quarterly results suggest a "large upside to 2022," wrote Deutsche Bank analyst Emmanuel Rosner. His team recommends a Buy rating and has a $1,200 price target on the stock.
"We continue to believe 2022 could be a pivotal year for Tesla’s future growth and profitability," notes Rosner and his team. The analyst pointed to a ramp up of the company's Berlin and Austin plants, the start of new vehicles, in-house production of battery cells, and a likely broader rollout of Full Self-Driving (FSD) software.
The majority of fourth quarter deliveries included the Model 3 sedan and the Model Y hatchback, which comprised of 296,850 cars.
The company's fourth quarter and full year delivery results highlight the ability to navigate a challenging supply chain environment. Tesla engineers were able to rewrite software for chips amid an industry-wide shortage last year.
"Although chip shortages remain a risk to production, we believe Tesla has demonstrated the agility needed to manage supply chain constraints better than peers, as shown in the 4Q21 delivery beat," added Rosner in his note to investors.
For the fourth quarter, Tesla produced 305,840 vehicles. Full year production came in at 930,422 cars.
Tesla hit $1 trillion in valuation for the first time on October 25 of last year. The company's stock rose about 50% in 2021.
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