What's going on?

Analysts at Citigroup and Morgan Stanley decided on Wednesday that Tesla�s shares are a decent deal all of a sudden.

What does this mean?

Investment banks don�t just deal in assets and cash: they also�deal in recommendations. See, one of the services these institutions provide pro clients is expert advice on the �fair value� of shares. And to work that out, they get their in-house eggheads to do some deep-dive research, crunch the numbers, and settle on a value that they can compare with the firm�s actual share price. Then they advise clients to buy, sell, or hold the company�s shares depending on the gap between the two. Now Tesla�s slipping share price has prompted Citigroup and Morgan Stanley to change their minds: Citi thinks the stock�s a hold, and Morgan Stanley, a buy.

Why should I care?

For you personally: Bucking the trend.
It�s against the rules, but leaned-on analysts can win their firms extra business, like juicy corporate advisory fees, by giving their stock price opinions some added va-va-voom. Stock prices tend to go up too, which means that a rare and often brave �sell� recommendation sticks out like a sore thumb, and is usually backed up by some well-founded opinions. So sure, Citigroup�s view on Tesla has only changed from hate to ambivalence, but a pivot in its gutsy opinion is worth clocking at the very least.

The bigger picture: A price for everything.
Good companies can be bad stocks, and bad companies can be good stocks. It sounds like a riddle, but Tesla can help us unravel how this conundrum plays out. See, most analysts do think Tesla�s a strong company, corporate culture aside � but some doubted whether the firm�s as entirely herculean as its stock price implies. The opposite can be true too, of course: even the most flawed firms can be diamond stocks if the price is low enough.