Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Stock Price Down 7.9% on Analyst Downgrade

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 7.9% on Friday after The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on the stock from $320.00 to $275.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Tesla traded as low as $236.00 and last traded at $246.21. Approximately 66,027,949 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 30% from the average daily volume of 94,170,050 shares. The stock had previously closed at $267.28.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Tesla from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Tesla from $420.00 to $345.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Tesla from $195.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a report on Thursday. Eight investment 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $312.65.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,672 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.73, for a total transaction of $718,046.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 26,950 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,242,273.50. The trade was a 9.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director James R. Murdoch sold 54,776 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.79, for a total transaction of $13,189,513.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 477,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,859,478.69. This trade represents a 10.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 477,228 shares of company stock valued at $166,849,043 over the last three months. Company insiders own 20.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Tesla

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Webster Bank N. A. boosted its holdings in Tesla by 4.1% during the first quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 9,745 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $2,526,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Tesla during the 1st quarter worth about $285,000. Farmers Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Tesla by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 1,249 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $324,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc increased its position in shares of Tesla by 17.8% in the first quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc now owns 1,026 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division raised its holdings in Tesla by 0.8% during the first quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 24,932 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $6,461,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Tesla Stock Down 10.4 %

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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $305.98 and a 200 day moving average of $323.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $770.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 117.37, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.58.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.66 earnings per share 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%. As a group, 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.