Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares gapped down before the market opened on Monday after Raymond James downgraded the stock to an outperform rating. The stock had previously closed at $241.37, but opened at $230.26. Tesla shares last traded at $224.50, with a volume of 13,828,751 shares changing hands.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Tesla from $195.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Tesla from $430.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Tesla from $320.00 to $275.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Tesla from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Tesla has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $290.66.

Insider Activity at Tesla

In related news, Director James R. Murdoch sold 54,776 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.79, for a total transaction of $13,189,513.04. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 477,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,859,478.69. This represents a 10.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 7,000 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $383.11, for a total value of $2,681,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 108,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,745,581.15. This trade represents a 6.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 374,228 shares of company stock valued at $123,791,123. Company insiders own 20.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Destination Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Tesla by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter. Destination Wealth Management now owns 12,597 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $3,296,000 after buying an additional 1,359 shares during the period. Stephens Consulting LLC raised its holdings in shares of Tesla by 126.7% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 1,594 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $644,000 after purchasing an additional 891 shares during the period. Worth Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Tesla by 383.1% in the 4th quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC now owns 8,314 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $3,358,000 after purchasing an additional 6,593 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Family Wealth Counselors L.L.C. grew its holdings in shares of Tesla by 133.7% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Family Wealth Counselors L.L.C. now owns 2,847 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $1,150,000 after purchasing an additional 1,629 shares during the period. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Tesla by 104.9% during the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 57,553 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $23,242,000 after purchasing an additional 29,458 shares in the last quarter. 66.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Tesla Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company’s fifty day moving average is $269.39 and its 200 day moving average is $322.54. The stock has a market cap of $765.43 billion, a PE ratio of 116.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.58.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.26). Tesla had a net margin of 7.26% and a return on equity of 10.31%. The business had revenue of $19.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share 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.