Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Down 7.9% Following Analyst Downgrade

by · The Cerbat Gem

Shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA – Get Free Report) were down 7.9% during mid-day trading on Friday after The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on the stock from $320.00 to $275.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Tesla traded as low as $236.00 and last traded at $246.21. Approximately 66,027,949 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 30% from the average daily volume of 94,170,050 shares. The stock had previously closed at $267.28.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on TSLA. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Tesla from $500.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Tesla from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Tesla from $420.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Cowen raised shares of Tesla from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Tesla has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $312.65.

View Our Latest Research Report on Tesla

Insider Buying and Selling at Tesla

In other Tesla 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 value of $2,894,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,063,565.40. This trade represents a 6.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 value of $13,189,513.04. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 477,011 shares in the company, valued at $114,859,478.69. This trade represents a 10.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 477,228 shares of company stock valued at $166,849,043. 20.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tesla

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of Tesla by 79.5% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 70 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. grew its stake 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 during the last quarter. GS Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Tesla by 193.3% during 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 during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Tesla in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. 66.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Tesla Stock Down 8.6 %

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’s 50-day moving average price is $309.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $322.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $785.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 121.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.50.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

About Tesla

(Get Free Report)

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.

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