Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Price Target Lowered to $320.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) had its price target decreased by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $440.00 to $320.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the electric vehicle producer’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price points to a potential upside of 34.45% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on TSLA. Cowen raised Tesla from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Tesla from $440.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Evercore ISI boosted 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, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $365.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $319.25.

Tesla Price Performance

NASDAQ TSLA opened at $238.01 on Tuesday. Tesla has a 1 year low of $138.80 and a 1 year high of $488.54. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $347.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $320.53. The company has a market cap of $765.56 billion, a PE ratio of 116.67, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.66 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 predict that Tesla will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Tesla

In related news, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 100,000 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.63, for a total value 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. The trade was a 94.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director James R. Murdoch sold 54,776 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 477,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,859,478.69. This represents a 10.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 477,228 shares of company stock valued at $166,849,043 in the last three months. 20.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its stake in Tesla by 36.8% in the fourth quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 11,989 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $4,842,000 after acquiring an additional 3,224 shares during the last quarter. Members Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Tesla in the 4th quarter worth $359,000. Tableaux LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Tesla during the fourth quarter worth $681,000. Keystone Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Tesla in the fourth quarter valued at about $246,000. Finally, Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ bought a new position in Tesla during the fourth quarter worth about $379,613,000. 66.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.