#F1 #Ferrari #Leclerc #AustrailianGP
$RACE
Charles Leclerc said he was able to control the lead of a race for the 1st time in F1 after a show of dominance in Melbourne, as the Ferrari driver extended his lead in the championship with a very comfortable victory in the Australian Grand Prix.
Mr. Leclerc led all 58 laps on his way to a 1st win at Albert Park, Max Verstappen challenging but DNF, falling out on Lap 39.
Mr. Leclerc declared, “Honestly, what a car today. Of course, I did [well] all weekend, but it was not possible without the car. And this weekend, especially in the race pace, we were extremely strong. Tyres felt great from the first lap to the last lap, we were managing the tyres extremely well, and I am just so happy.”
Now 34 pts ahead of MercedesAMG’s podium finisher George Russell in the standings, and another 4 pts ahead of team mate Carlos Sainz, Mr. Leclerc is well in control of the title race. And after this Aussie Grand Slam: pole position, fastest lap and victory with every lap led, the Big Q: Is he thinking about a maiden championship just yet?
The Big A:
“Well, obviously, we are only at the third race, so it’s difficult to think about the championship – but to be honest we have a very strong car and a very reliable car too, and for now we have always been there [at the top] so I hope it continues.
“And if it does we will be fighting for the championship, which obviously makes me very happy after the last two years that have been difficult for the team and for myself, so it’s great to be back in this position.”
Sainz’s Melbourne weekend goes from bad to worse as he crashes out on Lap 2
Mr. Leclerc leads the championship going into Ferrari’s home race at Imola, while Ferrari team mate Carlos Sainz will be looking to bounce back having spun out from P14 early in the Australian Grand Prix.
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Ferrari is The Aristocrat of the automotive sector.
Ferrari is 1 of the most recognizable brands in the world, even becoming the world’s strongest luxury brand in Y 2021, according to Brand Finance. Its Brand Strength Index scored 93.9 pts out of 100 and has a brand strength of AAA+.
Ferrari finished Friday at 219.51 within its 52 wk range of 127.73 – 275.30 in NY, down from its all time closing high at 275.30 on 22nd November.
Key technical indicators are Neutral to Very Bullish in here. The candlestick pattern indicated the confirmation of the break out at 196.01 on 3 November and confirmed.
The Key resistance is at 223.16, the Key support is at 211.16, our Key technical indicator is Very Bullish now
Societe Generale places a Street high price target of $290 on RACE as compared to the average sell-side price target at 195.93. Most Street analysts still do not know how to view Ferrari.
Morgan Stanley called out $RACE a “sleeper” EV play as the firm can justify more than 100% of the company’s value with its ICE business. MS’s new price target of $350 reps more than 35% Northside potential for shares and is above the average analyst 1 yr target is at 208.64.
MS automotive analyst says, “Longer term, we see scope for Ferrari to offer a range of EV products at potentially higher prices than the average selling price of today’s Ferrari, while leveraging economies of scale on higher volumes.“
Note: At the beginning of Y 2020 I called RACE at 230 by year’s end, the stock was trading at 165.22 on 1 January 2020, on 29 December 2020 it marked 233.66 intraday, an all time high
The Maranello Outfit’s shares were raised to Buy from Hold at HSBC, and Buys at Morgan Stanley and Bank of America.
UBS is now calling the stock at 365. I have not seen any other Street downgrades.
Ferrari will continue to create value in the long term as it becomes the world’s 1st Super Luxury brand.
Ferrari is a quality 1st long term luxury products investment, BAML raised its call to 270 long term.
I have raised my long term target to 375, a Strong Bull call, the strongest on the Street and am holding the mark during this recent profit taking, and seeing RACE as a buying opportunity.
Ferrari has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price at 208.29.
Ferrari will continue to create value in the long term. Ferrari is a quality 1st long term luxury products investment, and I am calling it 375 long term, the Top call on the Street, and adjusting it to 250/share short term.
The stock is considered defensive in the sector.
Have a prosperous week, Keep the Faith!
