Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Down 5.5% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) traded down 5.5% during trading on Monday after Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on the stock from $474.00 to $455.00. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock. Tesla traded as low as $243.36 and last traded at $249.11. 47,326,694 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 49% from the average session volume of 93,064,147 shares. The stock had previously closed at $263.55.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Monday, February 10th. TD Cowen raised shares of Tesla from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $388.00 in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Roth Mkm raised Tesla from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $380.00 in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Barclays increased their price target on Tesla from $270.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Roth Capital raised shares of Tesla from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $317.75.

Insider Activity at Tesla

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 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 $45,063,565.40. This represents a 6.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.63, for a total value of $41,163,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,222,802. This trade represents a 94.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 477,228 shares of company stock worth $166,849,043 in the last ninety days. 20.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tesla

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Tesla in the fourth quarter worth approximately $14,420,248,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Tesla by 40.1% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 34,661,400 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $13,997,660,000 after buying an additional 9,920,325 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its position in Tesla by 36,790.0% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 8,660,672 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $3,497,526,000 after buying an additional 8,637,195 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Tesla by 4,963.0% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,834,707 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $2,356,288,000 after acquiring an additional 5,719,466 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Tesla by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 28,579,615 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $11,541,592,000 after purchasing an additional 5,075,418 shares during the last quarter. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Tesla Stock Down 4.8 %

The company’s fifty day moving average is $321.33 and its 200-day moving average is $323.01. The company has a market cap of $807.07 billion, a PE ratio of 122.74, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 10.31% and a net margin of 7.26%. On average, analysts predict that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current 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.