Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Trading Down 3.3% After Analyst Downgrade

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares were down 3.3% during trading on Monday after Wedbush lowered their price target on the stock from $550.00 to $315.00. Wedbush currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Tesla traded as low as $214.25 and last traded at $231.63. Approximately 80,790,562 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 14% from the average daily volume of 94,254,869 shares. The stock had previously closed at $239.43.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Tesla from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Tesla from $270.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Tesla from $515.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Tesla from $474.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Tesla from $440.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $305.31.

Insider Activity at Tesla

In related news, Director James R. Murdoch sold 54,776 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.79, for a total transaction of $13,189,513.04. Following the sale, the director now owns 477,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,859,478.69. This trade represents a 10.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 112,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.04, for a total value of $43,162,255.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 85,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,643,400. This trade represents a 56.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 370,228 shares of company stock valued at $122,791,123 over the last quarter. Insiders own 20.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hengehold Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Tesla by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 1,347 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $544,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Advisors MI increased its position in Tesla by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI now owns 6,990 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $2,823,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Acropolis Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 2,814 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $1,136,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Mount Vernon Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Tesla by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Mount Vernon Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,305 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $2,950,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vista Finance LLC increased its position in Tesla by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vista Finance LLC now owns 3,510 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.20% of the company’s stock.

Tesla Trading Down 4.2 %

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 stock has a market capitalization of $737.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 112.00, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.58. The company’s 50 day moving average is $305.98 and its 200 day moving average is $324.24.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.08). Tesla had a net margin of 7.26% and a return on equity of 10.31%. On average, research 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.