Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Trading Down 2.2% After Analyst Downgrade

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares dropped 2.2% during mid-day trading on Friday after Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on the stock from $218.00 to $200.00. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft currently has a buy rating on the stock. Tesla traded as low as $175.30 and last traded at $175.79. Approximately 77,654,838 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 19% from the average daily volume of 95,391,528 shares. The stock had previously closed at $179.83.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. UBS Group dropped their target price on Tesla from $225.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Tesla from $295.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 5th. KGI Securities restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $213.00 price objective (down previously from $309.00) on shares of Tesla in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Robert W. Baird restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Tesla from $224.00 to $196.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $204.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Tesla

In related news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 93,705 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.44, for a total transaction of $16,439,605.20. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,631,600. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 93,706 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.73, for a total transaction of $18,247,369.38. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,920,950. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 93,705 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now owns 15,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,631,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 198,598 shares of company stock valued at $36,952,434. Insiders own 25.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tesla

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Tesla in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Wyrmwood Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Tesla in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Lam Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Tesla in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Halpern Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Tesla by 1,111.1% in the third quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. now owns 109 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alpha Paradigm Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Tesla in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Tesla Trading Down 2.2 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a market cap of $559.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 2.41. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $187.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $222.06.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.03). Tesla had a net margin of 15.50% and a return on equity of 16.62%. The company had revenue of $25.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.07 EPS. Tesla’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.44 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.