Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Stock Price Down 8.6% After Analyst Downgrade

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 8.6% during trading on Monday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $135.00 to $120.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an underweight rating on the stock. Tesla traded as low as $237.60 and last traded at $240.09. 53,467,303 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 35% from the average session volume of 81,670,172 shares. The stock had previously closed at $262.67.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Mizuho restated an "outperform" rating and set a $515.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Tesla from $259.00 to $225.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Cowen raised shares of Tesla from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Tesla from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Benchmark began coverage on Tesla in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $475.00 target price on the stock. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $325.81.

Insider Transactions at Tesla

In related news, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.63, for a total transaction of $41,163,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,222,802. This represents a 94.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,672 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.73, for a total value of $718,046.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 26,950 shares in the company, valued at $7,242,273.50. This represents a 9.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 477,228 shares of company stock worth $166,849,043. Company insiders own 20.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tesla

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in TSLA. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in Tesla by 79.5% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 70 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Tesla by 75.6% in the 4th quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Tesla during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. GS Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Tesla by 193.3% in the fourth quarter. GS Investments Inc. now owns 88 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in Tesla during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. 66.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Tesla Stock Down 3.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The company has a market cap of $774.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 117.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.50. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $357.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $319.03.

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

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.