Tesla shares fall for a second straight session on Friday, some furloughed employees to remain out of work for another week, report says

According to a report by Reuters, citing an internal email by Tesla Inc (TSLA), the US electric car maker informed furloughed employees that they would not return to work for at least one more week.

The company had previously intended to resume normal work process at its facility in Fremont, California, on May 4th. Production at the vehicle-assembly plant was suspended on March 24th.

Tesla shares closed lower for a second consecutive trading session on NASDAQ on Friday. It has also been the steepest single-session loss since March 18th. The stock went down 10.30% ($80.56) to $701.32, after touching an intraday low at $684.30, or a price level not seen since April 21st ($676.44).

Shares of Tesla Inc have risen 67.65% so far in 2020 compared with a 0.17% loss for the benchmark index, Nasdaq 100 (NDX).

In 2019, Tesla’s stock went up 25.70%, thus, it underperformed the Nasdaq 100, which registered a 37.96% gain.

“For furloughed employees, unless you are contacted by your manager about a start date, you will remain on furlough until further notice, at least for another week,” Tesla’s in-house counsel Valerie Capers Workman said in the email, cited by Reuters.

The news came several days after San Francisco County health officials had said that “shelter-in-place” orders would be revised.

According to Reuters, these new orders are to keep the restrictions in place and extend them through May. There will be limited easing for a small number of low-risk activities.

Analyst stock price forecast and recommendation

According to CNN Money, the 30 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Tesla Inc’s stock price, have a median target of $607.50, with a high estimate of $1,100.00 and a low estimate of $240.00. The median estimate represents a 13.38% downside compared to the closing price of $701.32 on May 1st.

The same media also reported that at least 15 out of 33 surveyed investment analysts had rated Tesla Inc’s stock as “Hold”, while 8 – as “Sell”. On the other hand, other 8 analysts had recommended buying the stock.