Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Raised to Buy at Bank of America

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) was upgraded by equities researchers at Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Wednesday, Briefing.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $220.00 target price on the electric vehicle producer’s stock. Bank of America‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 52.06% from the stock’s previous close.

TSLA has been the topic of several other reports. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on Tesla from $267.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Tesla from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $189.00 to $123.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $195.00 target price (down from $270.00) on shares of Tesla in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Edward Jones downgraded Tesla from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Tesla from $225.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $191.37.

Tesla Trading Up 1.9 %

Tesla stock opened at $144.68 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The company has a market capitalization of $460.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.57, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 2.39. Tesla has a one year low of $138.80 and a one year high of $299.29. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $176.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $209.24.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last issued 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 net margin of 15.50% and a return on equity of 16.62%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.07 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Tesla will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Tesla

In other news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 93,706 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were 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 directly owns 15,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,920,950. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Tesla news, SVP Andrew D. Baglino sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 31,230 shares in the company, valued at $6,376,229.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 93,706 shares of the firm’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 sale, the director now owns 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,920,950. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 209,098 shares of company stock worth $38,802,534. Insiders own 20.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of TSLA. Wyrmwood Management LLC acquired a new stake in Tesla during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Lam Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Tesla during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Ogorek Anthony Joseph NY ADV increased its holdings in shares of Tesla by 94.5% during the third quarter. Ogorek Anthony Joseph NY ADV now owns 142 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A bought a new position in shares of Tesla during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.