Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Down 5.5% on Analyst Downgrade

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) was down 5.5% on Monday after Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on the stock from $474.00 to $455.00. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock. Tesla traded as low as $243.36 and last traded at $249.11. Approximately 47,326,694 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 49% from the average daily volume of 93,064,147 shares. The stock had previously closed at $263.55.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on TSLA. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “cautious” rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Tesla from $440.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of Tesla from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Tesla from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Roth Capital upgraded Tesla from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $317.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $413.56, for a total value of $2,894,920.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,063,565.40. This represents a 6.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director James R. Murdoch sold 54,776 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.79, for a total value of $13,189,513.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 477,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,859,478.69. This trade represents a 10.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 477,228 shares of company stock valued at $166,849,043 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 20.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tesla

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 79.5% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 70 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Tesla by 75.6% during the 4th quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. GS Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Tesla by 193.3% during the 4th quarter. GS Investments Inc. now owns 88 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in shares of Tesla during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Tesla in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.20% of the company’s stock.

Tesla Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $321.33 and a 200-day moving average of $323.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $807.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 122.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.50.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.08). Tesla had a return on equity of 10.31% and a net margin of 7.26%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tesla Company Profile

Tesla, Inc designs, develops, manufactures, leases, and sells electric vehicles, and energy generation and storage systems in the United States, China, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Automotive, and Energy Generation and Storage. The Automotive segment offers electric vehicles, as well as sells automotive regulatory credits; and non-warranty after-sales vehicle, used vehicles, body shop and parts, supercharging, retail merchandise, and vehicle insurance services.