Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Stock Price Down 2.5% on Analyst Downgrade

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s share price fell 2.5% during mid-day trading on Friday after Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on the stock from $420.00 to $345.00. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft currently has a buy rating on the stock. Tesla traded as low as $260.79 and last traded at $266.27. 49,743,609 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 46% from the average session volume of 92,204,285 shares. The stock had previously closed at $273.13.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Tesla from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Tesla from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $425.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Tesla from $490.00 to $380.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Tesla from $515.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Tesla from $270.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Tesla presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $318.34.

Insider Transactions at Tesla

In related news, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.63, for a total value of $41,163,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,222,802. The trade was a 94.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director James R. Murdoch sold 54,776 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.79, for a total transaction of $13,189,513.04. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 477,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,859,478.69. The trade was a 10.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 477,228 shares of company stock valued at $166,849,043 in the last ninety days. 20.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in shares of Tesla by 79.5% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 70 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Tesla by 75.6% in the fourth quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. GS Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Tesla by 193.3% in the fourth quarter. GS Investments Inc. now owns 88 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Navigoe LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Tesla in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Tesla during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.20% of the company’s stock.

Tesla Trading Down 2.6 %

The company has a market capitalization of $855.62 billion, a PE ratio of 130.42, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.50. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $324.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $321.35. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last announced 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 net margin of 7.26% and a return on equity of 10.31%. 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.