Shares of Tesla Motors will have a hard time going higher because of the news surrounding the company, Andrew Left, Citron Research’s executive editor, said Wednesday.
“What I underestimated [about] Tesla the first time is, when the Model S was introduced, nine of 10 stories were saying how great the car is, and the stock just followed. Right now, there’s more balance,” he told CNBC’s “Fast Money: Halftime Report.” “If you look at the Geneva auto show, which happened last week, it’s no longer about if someone will have long-range electric vehicles in 2019-20, it will be who doesn’t have them.”
“It’s going to take more to find that incremental buyer for this stock at these levels,” he said. “Right now, you see a more balanced information news flow.”
On Tuesday, Citron unveiled a short position on the electric carmaker’s stock, citing the news flow around Tesla, as well as supply and demand issues.
“Recently, as the price of oil started to increase last week, with the price of Tesla, I heard too many commentators draw the correlation between the two. I said, ‘No, this is just wrong.’ I thought that it would be a great time, around the $185-190 range to go ahead and re-establish a short position in Tesla,” Left said on Wednesday.
Tesla’s stock traded slightly lower Wednesday.
Left also said he had covered his short position on Valeant Pharmaceuticals, although he did not say when he covered it.
“I wouldn’t be short Valeant, I wouldn’t be long Valeant. I think there’s just too much of a black box surrounding Valeant right now. I would like to get more information,” he said.
On Monday, the embattled pharmaceutical company said it had received a subpoena from the Securities Exchange Commission in the fourth quarter, adding that it has delayed its annual report with the SEC.
Left also said he had been contacted by the SEC and he had provided the agency with information. “I think the stock is uninvestable,” he said.
Valeant shares were up nearly 3 percent Wednesday, but remained more than 30 percent lower for the year.
