This Analyst Is Selling Tesla: $60 Spike Was Just Shorts Exiting Their Positions

Ronnie Moas of Standpoint Research downgraded shares of Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) on Thursday afternoon. The firm now has a Sell rating and $180 price target on the stock. Moas will appear on CNBC on Friday, to explain the reasons behind the demotion, however, he shared some comments from a report he sent to clients with Benzinga.

With the stock up about 70 percent since February 8, shares again seem overpriced, Moas said. Shares failed to break $280 in September 2014 and reversed below $190 in March 2015. The stock again tested the $280 resistance in June 2015, and yet again, reversed to $150 in February. The stock is now trading around $260, and Moas believes, "a third run at $280 will end in failure; a reversal; and break below $200."

So, what drove the stock up?

Related Link: This Man Called Tesla's Massive Short Squeeze When It Was $40/Share

Moas believes the move was fueled by short covering – even though news about the Model 3 could be considered good.

He went on to compare Tesla with other automakers. The electric vehicles manufacturer may hit $15 billion in sales by 2018, while General Motors Company (NYSE: GM) is at $150 billion. The market is treating them almost as equals in terms of market cap, however, and Tesla is not Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) or Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), and Moas said the market shouldn't treat it as such.

In fact, the market is treating Tesla as if it sold 1 million units per year, when it's actually selling 100,000. The company’s market cap now surpasses that of Porsche, Mazda, Ferrari and Fiat combined, and three times that of Peugeot.

With such an overvaluation, Moas recommends selling the stock.

Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no positions in any of the securities mentioned above.