Guggenheim Reiterates Sell Rating for Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA)

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA)‘s stock had its “sell” rating reissued by equities research analysts at Guggenheim in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $122.00 price target on the electric vehicle producer’s stock. Guggenheim’s price target suggests a potential downside of 16.24% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on TSLA. Robert W. Baird reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $280.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a research report on Friday. KGI Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $213.00 price objective (down previously from $309.00) on shares of Tesla in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Tesla from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Tesla from $225.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $194.33.

Tesla Price Performance

NASDAQ TSLA traded up $3.60 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $145.65. The stock had a trading volume of 66,193,366 shares, compared to its average volume of 101,230,883. Tesla has a 52-week low of $138.80 and a 52-week high of $299.29. The company has a market cap of $463.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 2.40. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $177.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $210.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.03). Tesla had a return on equity of 16.62% and a net margin of 15.50%. The company had revenue of $25.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.07 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Tesla will post 1.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Tesla

In related news, SVP Xiaotong Zhu sold 687 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.11, for a total transaction of $121,674.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 63,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,188,215.81. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Xiaotong Zhu sold 687 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.11, for a total value of $121,674.57. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 63,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,188,215.81. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Andrew D. Baglino sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.17, for a total value of $2,143,785.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,376,229.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 209,098 shares of company stock valued at $38,802,534 in the last 90 days. 20.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Tesla

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wyrmwood Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Tesla in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Lam Group Inc. bought a new position in Tesla during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Tesla by 202.2% during the 4th quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 136 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Ogorek Anthony Joseph NY ADV lifted its stake in shares of Tesla by 94.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ogorek Anthony Joseph NY ADV now owns 142 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A acquired a new position in Tesla in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 66.20% of the company’s stock.

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.