I wrote on Oct. 27 that the shares of Tesla ( TSLA) could see prices cut in half and concluded that "What could cause the price of TSLA to go so low?"
Fair question.
I made some guesses: Maybe the supply of critical materials for electic vehicles is cut off or disrupted as part of China flexing its muscles? Maybe CEO Elon Musk is distracted by Twitter ( TWTR) ? Maybe production and sales numbers decline sharply?
With prices making new 52-week lows Monday, let's check and see if our forecast is still on track.
In this daily bar chart of TSLA, below, we can see that prices have clearly broken their October lows and have made new 52-week lows. No one in the past year has a profitable long position. Prices trade below the declining 50-day moving average line and below the bearish 200-day moving average line.
The trading volume has increased in the past two months, telling me that traders are voting with their feet and shares are not falling of their own weight, so to speak. The daily On-Balance-Volume (OBV) line shows weakness from the middle of August. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) oscillator has been bearish, since late September.
In this weekly Japanese candlestick chart of TSLA, below, we see a bearish setup. Prices are in a longer-term decline as they trade well below the declining 40-week moving average line. The candles do not show a bottom reversal pattern and no lower shadows. Any potential chart support is old and more psychological than real. Trading volume looks light but the OBV line is trending lower and the MACD oscillator is bearish. Not a good combination.
In this daily Point and Figure chart of TSLA, below, we can see a downside price target in the $140 area.
In this weekly Point and Figure chart of TSLA, below, we can see a price target in the $85 area.
Bottom line strategy: The bears continue to be in control of the price action, so traders and investors should continue to avoid the long side of TSLA.
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