Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Down 3.3% Following Analyst Downgrade

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s stock price fell 3.3% during trading on Monday after Wedbush lowered their price target on the stock from $550.00 to $315.00. Wedbush currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Tesla traded as low as $214.25 and last traded at $231.63. 80,790,562 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 14% from the average session volume of 94,254,869 shares. The stock had previously closed at $239.43.

TSLA has been the subject of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Tesla from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Tesla from $440.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. HSBC dropped their price target on shares of Tesla from $165.00 to $130.00 and set a “reduce” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Glj Research reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Tesla from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $305.31.

Insider Activity at Tesla

In other news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 112,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $384.04, for a total value of $43,162,255.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 85,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,643,400. This trade represents a 56.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $383.11, for a total value of $2,681,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 108,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,745,581.15. The trade was a 6.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 370,228 shares of company stock worth $122,791,123 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 20.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tesla

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in TSLA. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in Tesla by 79.5% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 70 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. GS Investments Inc. increased its position in Tesla by 193.3% during the 4th quarter. GS Investments Inc. now owns 88 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in Tesla in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Tesla in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.20% of the company’s stock.

Tesla Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $295.83 and its 200-day moving average is $323.34. 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 stock has a market cap of $713.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 108.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.58.

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%. Analysts anticipate that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS 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.