Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Down 3.4% After Analyst Downgrade

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares fell 3.4% during trading on Friday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $225.00 to $190.00. UBS Group currently has a sell rating on the stock. Tesla traded as low as $244.07 and last traded at $243.86. 44,806,066 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 53% from the average session volume of 95,562,223 shares. The stock had previously closed at $252.40.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on TSLA. Wedbush lowered their price target on shares of Tesla from $550.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Tesla from $430.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Tesla from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Tesla from $490.00 to $380.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a “mixed” rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $298.59.

Insider Activity at Tesla

In related news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 7,000 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $383.11, for a total transaction of $2,681,770.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 108,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,745,581.15. The trade was a 6.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 112,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.04, for a total transaction of $43,162,255.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 85,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,643,400. The trade was a 56.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 374,228 shares of company stock worth $123,791,123. 20.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of TSLA. Hengehold Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Tesla by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 1,347 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $544,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI raised its holdings in Tesla by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI now owns 6,990 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $2,823,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Tesla by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 2,814 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $1,136,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Mount Vernon Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Tesla by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Mount Vernon Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,305 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $2,950,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vista Finance LLC raised its stake in shares of Tesla by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vista Finance LLC now owns 3,510 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.20% of the company’s stock.

Tesla Stock Down 3.4 %

The firm has a market cap of $784.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 119.54, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.58. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $287.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $323.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.61.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.08). Tesla had a return on equity of 10.31% and a net margin of 7.26%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.