Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Down 1.5% on Analyst Downgrade

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares were down 1.5% during trading on Wednesday after Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft now has a $123.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $189.00. Tesla traded as low as $153.78 and last traded at $154.72. Approximately 29,159,865 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 101,150,414 shares. The stock had previously closed at $157.11.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on TSLA. Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and set a $195.00 target price (down previously from $270.00) on shares of Tesla in a report on Monday, March 25th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Tesla from $200.00 to $180.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $298.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Tesla from $225.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of Tesla from $267.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $194.70.

Insider Activity at Tesla

In other Tesla news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 93,706 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.73, for a total value of $18,247,369.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,920,950. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, SVP Andrew D. Baglino sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.17, for a total transaction of $2,143,785.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 31,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,376,229.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 93,706 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.73, for a total transaction of $18,247,369.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,920,950. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 209,098 shares of company stock worth $38,802,534 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 25.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tesla

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wyrmwood Management LLC bought a new position in Tesla in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Lam Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Tesla during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Alpha Paradigm Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Tesla in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. MayTech Global Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Tesla in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC increased its position in Tesla by 202.2% during the fourth quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 136 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.20% of the company’s stock.

Tesla Stock Down 3.6 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a market cap of $477.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.79, a PEG ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 2.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $179.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $212.21.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $25.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.64 billion. Tesla had a return on equity of 16.62% and a net margin of 15.50%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.07 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Tesla, Inc. will post 1.97 EPS for the current fiscal 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.