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Teslas earnings are due out on Wednesday, July 22 after the market closes. It will be must-see TV for Wall Street denizens.

As the date approaches, analysts are refining numbers and hitting the refresh button on their short-term stock views. Right now, the analysis centers on risk versus reward,

Citigroup analyst Itay Michaeli is still cautious. He rates shares the equivalent of Sell, but he did increase his price target from $246 to $450 a share. Thats well below where Tesla stock trades, so he qualifies as a Tesla bear.

Michaeli, in a Wednesday research report, challenged some of the bull-case tenets such as the idea that Tesla is experiencing seemingly unlimited demand thats decoupled from autos, that traditional and emerging competitors stand little chance, that [Teslas self driving] is industry leading and that Tesla should be valued versus large Tech names.

He calls the stock high risk as the big day nears.

Baird analyst Ben Kallo sounds cautious as well, suggesting investors take some profits in a Friday research note. Risk/Reward temporarily skewed negatively, wrote Kallo. He believes Tesla will produce a second-quarter profit, something no one expected weeks ago, but added if the company doesnt, it will be a negative catalyst for the stock, given the intense discussion about Teslas inclusion in the S&P 500 index lately.

A profit under generally accepted accounting principles for the second quarter would all but ensure Teslas inclusion in the S&P 500. Bulls believe that will create more stock buying and gains in the price. There is a range of opinion on how much impact the inclusion would have, and how long it will last.

We do think the stock is pricing in inclusion at current levels as funds position ahead of a rebalancing, said Kallo.

Kallo, a longtime bull, now rates shares the equivalent of Hold and has a $984 price target for the stock. He increased his target price from $700 to $984 Friday.

Credit Suisse analyst Dan Levy also increased his price target Thursday, from $700 to $1,400. He still rates Tesla at Hold despite the 100% target-price increase.

Levy feels like Kallo does. There are lots of things going right at Telsa but a material hiccup could lead to a correction, he wrote. He also pointed out that Tesla stock is the most widely bought stock in the past month on Robinhood, the retail investor trading app.

His point is that euphoria among retail investors might be driving shares too high.

Tesla shares are, indeed, high. The stock is up roughly 50% over the past month, 260% year to date, and 500% over the past year. The gains have been incredible, exceeding comparable returns of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 as well as Teslas traditional automotive peers.

These are three, relatively bearish takes on the quarter. All acknowledge recent solid business execution, while asking how much is enough for the stock. More previews will be out in coming days.

Tesla is now the worlds most valuable car company. Elon Musks companys market capitalization is now more than 10 times Henry Fords namesake Ford Motor (F).

Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com

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Teslas Earnings Are Coming. Heres What Wall Street Is Saying. - Barron's