Bull of the Day: Tesla Motors (TSLA) - Bull of the Day

has become an investor favorite, and for good reason too. The security has been an excellent investment, and given its strong growth potential, many believe that more gains could definitely be ahead for this company.

In fact, shares of TSLA have probably already been star performers for many portfolios this year, thanks to its over 60% YTD return. This has given Tesla an extremely lofty PE, with our site putting the forward PE multiple just under 3,000.

Yet even with this extreme valuation and recent run up, there is still plenty of reason to be bullish on TSLA in the near term. This is particularly true when investors take a closer look at recent earnings estimate revision activity for this increasingly in-focus stock.

Estimates for the current year and next year have been moving higher in recent sessions for Tesla Motors. The real number to focus in on though is the projected earnings for next year, as there is a tremendous growth rate in these numbers.

Analysts are actually looking for just nine cents in profit for the current year, but a whopping $2.14/share in earnings for the 2015 fiscal year. This represents an EPS growth rate of over 2,000% and clearly TSLA will have its hands full meeting these incredible expectations.

Fortunately for TSLA, they have plenty of plans in the works which could help to boost production and profits, and thereby allow Tesla to meet these earnings estimates. Chief among the company's near term plans are more domestic and international sales to tap into the huge car market.

After all, TSLA sells less than 50,000 cars a year, a tiny fraction of the more than 17 million that are sold each year in the U.S. alone, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem for the company to double or even triple sales without the U.S. auto market being distorted at all.

This situation is also true in China, where Tesla sales are just starting to pick up. This has been helped by a deal with China Unicom to install charging stations at hundreds of locations across the country, making it easier for drivers to charge their cars and increasing the appeal of Tesla vehicles as well.

Beyond increased sales of cars, there is the much touted ‘gigafactory' to consider for the longer term too. This battery production plant, which is still in the initial stages, looks to scale up lithium ion battery production and slash costs for these keys to the electric car market.

While it is important to remember that this plant won't come online for years, it could have a dramatic long term impact on the electric car industry.

that in just the first year of operation battery costs will nosedive by more than 30%, greatly helping Tesla to improve the profitability of its electric vehicle lineup.

While Tesla has already had a great run this year, there is plenty of reason to still be optimistic regarding this stock. Great growth opportunities are still out there, while the long term outlook remains bright as well.

Currently, we have Tesla as a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and feel as though rising earnings estimates signal that more gains can definitely be had in this security in the near term. So don't focus too much on the surge in Tesla's price lately, as TSLA shares could definitely keep up their momentum and push past the $300/share barrier before too long.

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