Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) Receives $318.77 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the thirty-seven analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have issued a hold recommendation, fifteen have given a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $313.15.

Several research analysts have weighed in on TSLA shares. Guggenheim reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $365.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Tesla from $195.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Mizuho reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $515.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Tesla from $195.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd.

Tesla Stock Down 5.6 %

TSLA stock opened at $263.45 on Tuesday. Tesla has a 52-week low of $138.80 and a 52-week high of $488.54. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $371.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $317.75. 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 capitalization of $847.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 129.14, a P/E/G ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.50.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.66 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Tesla will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $413.56, for a total transaction of $2,894,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 108,965 shares in the company, valued at $45,063,565.40. This trade represents a 6.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.63, for a total transaction of $41,163,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,222,802. This trade represents a 94.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 422,452 shares of company stock worth $153,659,530 in the last quarter. 20.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TSLA. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in Tesla by 79.5% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 70 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in Tesla in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Horrell Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Tesla by 75.6% in the 4th 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. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Tesla in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, GS Investments Inc. increased its position in Tesla by 193.3% in the 4th quarter. GS Investments Inc. now owns 88 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.20% of the company’s stock.

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.