Tesla stock (TSLA) rose as much as 1.1% in early trading on Friday, putting shares on track to extend their longest winning streak in over a year and continue as a market leader.
After a 30% rally over the past seven sessions — and a nearly 40% rise in the last month — the stock is nearing breakeven for 2024 after falling as much as 40% year to date as of mid-April.
Over the last month, the S&P 500 is up a more modest 3.5%.
Tesla's extended rally comes as the car manufacturer beat on quarterly deliveries earlier this week.
Aside from these production and delivery results, Tesla bulls have also highlighted the company’s fastest-growing segment — its energy storage business.
"Tesla started its Independence Day celebration early with a positive 2Q delivery beat, 33k lower inventory and a large storage beat to remind investors it's not just an auto company," wrote Morgan Stanley's Adam Jonas in a recent note.
Another positive catalyst came following the publication of China’s provincial government purchase list, which included locally built Tesla cars on Thursday.
The catalog for Jiangsu province in eastern China includes Tesla’s Model Y vehicle, meaning government workers are allowed to purchase the vehicle as a service car, according to Reuters.
Tesla has faced stiff competition abroad from its Chinese counterparts and some waning demand for EVs in the U.S. In an effort to reduce costs, the company embarked on a plan to cut more than 10% of its global staff earlier this year in what some analysts saw as a signal of tough times ahead.
The company also slashed prices last year to spur sales.
During Tesla's shareholder meeting last month, CEO Elon Musk confirmed that near-term demand and sales would still struggle somewhat as the industry goes through a transitionary period.
"There is still the risk of further price cuts ahead, and there [are] still further questions on fundamentals, we are still facing somewhat of an EV winter on demand," Barclays senior equity research analyst Dan Levy told Yahoo Finance earlier this week. "So, good result. But I think the fundamental macro backdrop is still the same." Levy has an Equal Weight rating on the stock and a $180 price target.
Tesla will report its quarterly results on July 23 after the market close. Analysts are also looking ahead to Aug. 8 when the company will unveil its much-anticipated robotaxi.
"The key for Tesla's stock is the Street recognizing that Tesla is the most undervalued AI play in the market," Wedbush managing director Dan Ives wrote in a note this week as he raised his price target on the stock to $300 from $275 with a new bull case of $400 for 2025.
Ives added the company's robotaxi event on Aug. 8 "will lay the yellow brick road to [full self-driving] and an autonomous future."
The stock has pared all of its year-to-date losses, jumping more than 70% from its late-April lows.
Ines Ferre is a senior business reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X at @ines_ferre.
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