Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Down 5.7% on Analyst Downgrade

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s share price dropped 5.7% during mid-day trading on Monday after Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on the stock from $440.00 to $320.00. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Tesla traded as low as $236.80 and last traded at $235.71. Approximately 36,435,048 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 58% from the average daily volume of 87,576,094 shares. The stock had previously closed at $249.98.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on TSLA. Cowen upgraded shares of Tesla from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Guggenheim lowered their target price on Tesla from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Tesla from $490.00 to $380.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Tesla from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $319.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Tesla news, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.63, for a total value of $41,163,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,222,802. This represents a 94.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director James R. Murdoch sold 54,776 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were 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 owns 477,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,859,478.69. This represents a 10.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 477,228 shares of company stock worth $166,849,043 in the last three months. 20.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tesla

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TSLA. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in Tesla by 79.5% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 70 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Horrell Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Tesla by 75.6% in the 4th quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. GS Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Tesla by 193.3% in the fourth 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 period. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in shares of Tesla during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Tesla in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Tesla Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The company has a fifty day moving average of $344.47 and a 200 day moving average of $320.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $724.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 110.45, a PEG 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 net margin of 7.26% and a return on equity of 10.31%. Sell-side analysts predict that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current 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.