Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Down 1.5% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) were down 1.5% during trading on Wednesday after Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft now has a $123.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $189.00. Tesla traded as low as $153.78 and last traded at $154.72. Approximately 29,159,865 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 101,150,414 shares. The stock had previously closed at $157.11.

TSLA has been the topic of a number of other reports. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Tesla in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. They set a “sell” rating and a $170.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Tesla from $320.00 to $310.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. KGI Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $213.00 price objective (down from $309.00) on shares of Tesla in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $298.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on Tesla from $267.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Tesla currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $194.70.

Insider Activity at Tesla

In related news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 93,706 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now directly owns 15,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,920,950. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Xiaotong Zhu sold 687 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.11, for a total transaction of $121,674.57. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 63,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,188,215.81. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 93,706 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.73, for a total value of $18,247,369.38. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,920,950. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 209,098 shares of company stock worth $38,802,534. 25.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tesla

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wyrmwood Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Tesla during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Lam Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Tesla during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Alpha Paradigm Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Tesla during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Tesla by 202.2% during the 4th quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 136 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Finally, Ogorek Anthony Joseph NY ADV boosted its holdings in Tesla by 94.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ogorek Anthony Joseph NY ADV now owns 142 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Tesla Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $477.50 billion, a PE ratio of 34.79, a PEG ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 2.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $179.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $212.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $25.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.64 billion. Tesla had a net margin of 15.50% and a return on equity of 16.62%. The company’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.07 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Tesla, Inc. will post 1.97 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.