Guggenheim Reaffirms “Sell” Rating for Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA)

Guggenheim reissued their sell rating on shares of Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports.

TSLA has been the subject of several other reports. UBS Group raised their target price on Tesla from $226.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “cautious” rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Monday, February 10th. Phillip Securities cut shares of Tesla from a “moderate sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Tesla from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $319.57.

Tesla Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of TSLA opened at $281.95 on Tuesday. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $387.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $315.28. Tesla has a 52 week low of $138.80 and a 52 week high of $488.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $906.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 138.21, a P/E/G ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.34.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.66 EPS 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, equities research analysts expect that Tesla will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Tesla

In other Tesla news, Director Kimbal Musk sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $367.87, for a total value of $27,590,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,463,220 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $538,274,741.40. This trade represents a 4.88 % 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 the SEC website. Also, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 112,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.06, for a total transaction of $39,792,803.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 85,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,095,100. The trade was a 56.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 523,386 shares of company stock worth $195,995,200 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 20.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tesla

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of Tesla by 79.5% in 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 during the period. Horrell Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Tesla by 75.6% in the fourth quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. GS Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Tesla by 193.3% in the fourth quarter. GS Investments Inc. now owns 88 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in shares of Tesla during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Tesla in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors own 66.20% of the company’s stock.

About Tesla

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.