JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Stock Price

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) had its price objective dropped by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $120.00 to $115.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "underweight" rating on the electric vehicle producer's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target indicates a potential downside of 58.19% from the company's previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Tesla from $440.00 to $320.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Cowen upgraded shares of Tesla from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on Tesla from $425.00 to $355.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen raised Tesla from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $388.00 in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Tesla presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $287.46.

Tesla Trading Up 6.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:TSLA traded up $15.55 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $275.06. 46,409,621 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 95,699,244. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $884.73 billion, a PE ratio of 135.87, a P/E/G ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.58. The business's 50 day moving average is $265.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $322.18. Tesla has a one year low of $158.36 and a one year high of $488.54.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.26). Tesla had a net margin of 7.26% and a return on equity of 10.31%. The company had revenue of $19.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Tesla will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James R. Murdoch sold 54,776 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.79, for a total value of $13,189,513.04. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 477,011 shares of the company's stock, valued at $114,859,478.69. This represents a 10.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $1,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 26,950 shares in the company, valued at $6,737,500. This trade represents a 12.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 374,228 shares of company stock worth $123,791,123 over the last three months. 20.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tesla

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of TSLA. Hengehold Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Tesla by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 1,347 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $544,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI grew its position in shares of Tesla by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI now owns 6,990 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $2,823,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Tesla by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 2,814 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $1,136,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Mount Vernon Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Tesla by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Mount Vernon Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,305 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $2,950,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vista Finance LLC grew its holdings in Tesla by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vista Finance LLC now owns 3,510 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 66.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.