Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Receives Top Pick Rating from Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley reiterated their top pick rating on shares of Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) in a report released on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. Morgan Stanley currently has a $430.00 price target on the electric vehicle producer’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on TSLA. New Street Research upgraded shares of Tesla from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $460.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Benchmark started coverage on shares of Tesla in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $475.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Tesla from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Tesla from $351.00 to $373.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “mixed” rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $315.33.

Tesla Stock Performance

Shares of TSLA stock opened at $279.10 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $897.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 136.81, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.34. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $374.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $318.13. Tesla has a 52 week low of $138.80 and a 52 week high of $488.54.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last announced 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 predict that Tesla will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Tesla news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.02, for a total value of $1,776,120.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,833,325.68. This represents a 20.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 112,390 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $384.04, for a total transaction of $43,162,255.60. Following the sale, the director now owns 85,000 shares in the company, valued at $32,643,400. This represents a 56.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 422,386 shares of company stock valued at $153,916,675. Company insiders own 20.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. True Wealth Design LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Horrell Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Tesla by 75.6% in the 4th quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. GS Investments Inc. raised its position in Tesla by 193.3% in the 4th quarter. GS Investments Inc. now owns 88 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in Tesla in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Tesla in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. 66.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.