Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Down 7.9% After Analyst Downgrade

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) was down 7.9% during trading on Friday after Wedbush lowered their price target on the stock from $550.00 to $315.00. Wedbush currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Tesla traded as low as $236.00 and last traded at $246.21. Approximately 66,027,949 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 30% from the average daily volume of 94,170,050 shares. The stock had previously closed at $267.28.

Several other research analysts have also commented on TSLA. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Tesla from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Tesla from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $388.00 in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Tesla from $270.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed a "mixed" rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Eight 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Tesla currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $305.31.

Insider Transactions at Tesla

In related news, Director James R. Murdoch sold 54,776 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 477,011 shares of the company's stock, valued at $114,859,478.69. This trade represents a 10.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 112,390 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.04, for a total transaction of $43,162,255.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 85,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,643,400. This trade represents a 56.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 370,228 shares of company stock valued at $122,791,123. 20.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Tesla

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Tesla by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,650,393 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $955,052,000 after purchasing an additional 194,796 shares during the period. United Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Tesla during the third quarter worth about $287,000. Hodges Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Tesla during the third quarter worth about $685,000. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC increased its position in Tesla by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 1,262 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $330,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Tesla by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,043,054 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $272,894,000 after purchasing an additional 74,096 shares during the last quarter. 66.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Tesla Stock Performance

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 fifty day moving average price of $302.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $324.17. The firm has a market cap of $742.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 113.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.58.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, analysts expect that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.