Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Down 0.2% on Analyst Downgrade

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 0.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Piper Sandler lowered their price target on the stock from $450.00 to $400.00. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Tesla traded as low as $237.68 and last traded at $241.17. 30,198,597 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 95,747,623 shares. The stock had previously closed at $241.55.

TSLA has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Tesla from $440.00 to $320.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Tesla from $373.00 to $280.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Tesla from $430.00 to $410.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Tesla from $195.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, New Street Research raised shares of Tesla from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $460.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $292.18.

Insider Activity at Tesla

In other news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 112,390 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $384.04, for a total transaction of $43,162,255.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 85,000 shares in the company, valued at $32,643,400. The trade was a 56.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 4,000 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 26,950 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,737,500. This trade represents a 12.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 374,228 shares of company stock worth $123,791,123 over the last quarter. 20.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tesla

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of TSLA. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in shares of Tesla by 79.5% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 70 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Horrell Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Tesla by 75.6% in the fourth quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Pflug Koory LLC boosted its holdings in Tesla by 370.4% during the 1st quarter. Pflug Koory LLC now owns 127 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. GS Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Tesla by 193.3% during the 4th quarter. GS Investments Inc. now owns 88 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Navigoe LLC bought a new position in Tesla in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Tesla Trading Down 0.2 %

The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $273.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $322.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $775.71 billion, a PE ratio of 118.22, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.61.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.08). Tesla had a net margin of 7.26% and a return on equity of 10.31%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current 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.