HSBC Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Stock Price

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) had its target price lowered by analysts at HSBC from $165.00 to $130.00 in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a “reduce” rating on the electric vehicle producer’s stock. HSBC’s price objective indicates a potential downside of 50.67% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also commented on TSLA. Bank of America cut their price target on Tesla from $490.00 to $380.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “cautious” rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Tesla from $492.00 to $474.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Cowen raised shares of Tesla from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $318.34.

Tesla Stock Performance

Shares of TSLA opened at $263.55 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market cap of $847.71 billion, a PE ratio of 129.19, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.50. Tesla has a 1 year low of $138.80 and a 1 year high of $488.54. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $321.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $321.68.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 forecast that Tesla will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Tesla

In other Tesla news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 112,390 shares of the company’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 directly owns 85,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,643,400. This represents a 56.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director James R. Murdoch sold 54,776 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 477,011 shares in the company, valued at $114,859,478.69. The trade was a 10.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 477,228 shares of company stock worth $166,849,043. Company insiders own 20.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Tesla

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Tesla in the fourth quarter worth $14,420,248,000. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Tesla by 40.1% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 34,661,400 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $13,997,660,000 after buying an additional 9,920,325 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Tesla by 36,790.0% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 8,660,672 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $3,497,526,000 after acquiring an additional 8,637,195 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Tesla by 4,963.0% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,834,707 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $2,356,288,000 after acquiring an additional 5,719,466 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Tesla by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 28,579,615 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $11,541,592,000 after acquiring an additional 5,075,418 shares in the last quarter. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.