Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the forty-two brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have issued a hold recommendation, nineteen have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $293.67.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $450.00 price target on Tesla and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Tesla from $314.00 to $307.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. BNP Paribas set a $137.00 target price on Tesla and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Cowen upgraded Tesla from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th.

Tesla Price Performance

Shares of TSLA stock opened at $322.05 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.04 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 176.95, a PEG ratio of 11.88 and a beta of 2.47. The business’s fifty day moving average is $303.42 and its 200 day moving average is $332.59. Tesla has a twelve month low of $179.66 and a twelve month high of $488.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.26). Tesla had a return on equity of 9.02% and a net margin of 6.66%. The company had revenue of $19.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Tesla will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Xiaotong Zhu sold 15,000 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $323.81, for a total value of $4,857,150.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 67,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,889,556. This trade represents a 18.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ira Matthew Ehrenpreis sold 477,572 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $357.30, for a total value of $170,636,475.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 855,394 shares in the company, valued at $305,632,276.20. This represents a 35.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 833,509 shares of company stock valued at $278,648,925. Insiders own 20.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in Tesla by 79.5% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 70 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 75.6% in the 4th quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. GS Investments Inc. raised its holdings 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 acquired a new position in Tesla in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Tesla in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.