Tesla may be getting all the headlines, but this legacy automaker is the one to watch now.
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) has been dominating headlines recently.
At the end of last month, shares of the electric vehicle maker jumped more than 10% following a blockbuster earnings report that Wedbush analyst Dan Ives called “potentially game changing.”
A week later, the stock staged its biggest one-day gain in six years surging 20% after Ron Baron said that Tesla’s revenue will top $1 trillion in revenue in a decade, while ARK Invest—Wall Street’s most bullish firm—forecast that shares will be worth $7,000 by 2024.
And then today, Tesla disclosed that it will be offering $2 billion in common stock “to further strengthen its balance sheet,” which sent the stock up nearly 5%.
Ives said called it “a smart, strategic move,” adding that “it takes any doomsday scenario around cash crunch… off the table.”
But if you’re not caught up in the Tesla whirlwind, there’s another automaker investors may want to watch now.
Blue Line Capital founder and president Bill Baruch, and Chantico Global founder and CEO Gina Sanchez are watching two legacy automakers: Ford (NYSE: F) and General Motors (NYSE: GM).
“Neither of these stocks are showing much promise,” Baruch said, “but Ford is showing less to no promise.”
“This stock has been trending lower since 2014,” Baruch said. “It missed earnings. And right now, it looks like… it’s heading to about $7 at least. So, I’d stay away from Ford.”
Sanchez agreed, adding that Ford “stumbled” in its launch of the new Ford Explorer last year, which “really hit their earnings,” making worse an already prolonged earnings decline.
But while “the story in Ford is really negative,” Sanchez said, there’s a bright spot for GM.
“[Ford is] more expensive than GM, where all of that negative news is all priced in. So, if I were to have to choose between Ford and GM, I’d go with GM. They are better priced.”
“It’s showing some promise,” Baruch said. “They did beat earnings. It was a tough fourth quarter. The stock has a nice trend line that comes in just above $33, and I’d like to think, at least in the near or intermediate term, it can [bounce] off of $33.”
As of this writing, GM shares are up 2.8% over the last week to $35.29.
Analysts rate GM shares a Strong Buy and their consensus price target for the stock indicate nearly 25% upside ahead over the next twelve months.