Bank of America Upgrades Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) to “Buy”

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) was upgraded by equities researchers at Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $220.00 price objective on the electric vehicle producer’s stock. Bank of America‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 29.27% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Tesla from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $245.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $195.00 target price (down from $270.00) on shares of Tesla in a report on Monday, March 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Tesla from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Tesla from $196.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Tesla presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $186.70.

Tesla Stock Up 5.0 %

Shares of Tesla stock opened at $170.18 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $541.99 billion, a PE ratio of 43.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 2.39. Tesla has a 52-week low of $138.80 and a 52-week high of $299.29. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $175.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $208.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.73.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $25.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.64 billion. Tesla had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 14.37%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.07 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Tesla will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Tesla news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 93,705 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.44, for a total value of $16,439,605.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,631,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Tesla news, SVP Andrew D. Baglino sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.20, for a total value of $1,850,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,502,726. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 93,705 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.44, for a total value of $16,439,605.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,631,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 209,098 shares of company stock valued at $38,802,534 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 25.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wyrmwood Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Tesla in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Lam Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Tesla in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Tesla by 202.2% in the fourth quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 136 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Ogorek Anthony Joseph NY ADV increased its stake in shares of Tesla by 94.5% in the third quarter. Ogorek Anthony Joseph NY ADV now owns 142 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A acquired a new stake in shares of Tesla in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.