The Goldman Sachs Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Stock Price

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) had its price objective decreased by investment analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $320.00 to $275.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the electric vehicle producer’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 14.86% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Tesla from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $404.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on Tesla from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Tesla from $440.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $312.65.

Tesla Stock Down 10.4 %

Shares of Tesla stock opened at $239.43 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $305.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $322.90. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Tesla has a twelve month low of $138.80 and a twelve month high of $488.54. The stock has a market cap of $770.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 117.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.58.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last posted its 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Tesla will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Tesla

In other news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,672 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.73, for a total transaction of $718,046.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 26,950 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,242,273.50. This trade represents a 9.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director James R. Murdoch sold 54,776 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 477,011 shares in the company, valued at $114,859,478.69. The trade was a 10.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 477,228 shares of company stock worth $166,849,043 in the last three months. 20.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Horrell Capital Management Inc. increased 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 worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. GS Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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. Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in Tesla in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Tesla during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.20% of the company’s stock.

About Tesla

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.