Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Trading Down 8.6% Following Analyst Downgrade

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) was down 8.6% on Monday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $259.00 to $225.00. UBS Group currently has a sell rating on the stock. Tesla traded as low as $237.60 and last traded at $240.09. Approximately 53,467,303 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 35% from the average daily volume of 81,670,172 shares. The stock had previously closed at $262.67.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on TSLA. Truist Financial increased their target price on Tesla from $351.00 to $373.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. 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. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Tesla from $440.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a research report on Friday. Finally, Roth Mkm raised shares of Tesla from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $85.00 to $380.00 in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $326.43.

Insider Activity

In other Tesla news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,672 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.73, for a total value of $718,046.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 26,950 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,242,273.50. This represents a 9.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 112,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $384.04, for a total value of $43,162,255.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 85,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Insiders have sold a total of 422,452 shares of company stock valued at $153,659,530 in the last 90 days. 20.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lighthouse Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Tesla in the 4th quarter valued at $2,507,000. Anchor Pointe Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Tesla in the fourth quarter valued at about $398,000. Aegis Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Tesla in the fourth quarter worth about $252,000. Alpha Wealth Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Tesla in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,291,000. Finally, Copia Wealth Management bought a new stake in Tesla during the 4th quarter worth approximately $571,000. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Tesla Stock Up 3.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.02. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $360.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $319.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $741.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 113.03, 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 the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.08). Tesla had a net margin of 7.26% and a return on equity of 10.31%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

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.