Investing.com - Trust Tesla to be the contrarian today.
Shares of Tesla jumped in midday trading after the electric auto manufacturer received a huge endorsement from a former critic.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock rose about 5% at 11:45 AM ET (15:35 GMT), a rare view of green in a sea of red in today’s selloff.
Short-seller Andrew Left’s Citron Research surprisingly reversed its view of the stock, saying it is now long because of the company’s dominant position.
“While the media has been focused on Elon Musk’s eccentric, outlandish and at times offensive behavior, it has failed to notice the legitimate disruption of the auto industry that is currently being DOMINATED by Tesla,” Citron said in a note.
“Plain and simple -- Tesla is destroying the competition,” it added.
Citron has long been shorting shares of Tesla and Left is suing the company over alleged stock price manipulation, including Musk’s infamous tweet saying he had funding to take the company private at $420 per share.
Left is still suing the company, despite the change of opinion on the stock, he told CNBC.
Meanwhile, Nike (NYSE:NKE) continued its long post-earnings slide, falling about 3.5% midday.
Shares are down about 14% in the last month. The were at an all-time high near $86 when the company reported results on Sept. 25, where a contraction in gross margins spooked investors.
The stock is still up more than 14% year to date.