Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Down 5.2% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) traded down 5.2% on Tuesday after Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on the stock from $440.00 to $320.00. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Tesla traded as low as $222.28 and last traded at $225.65. 42,963,975 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 53% from the average session volume of 90,614,737 shares. The stock had previously closed at $238.01.

TSLA has been the subject of several other research reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Roth Capital raised shares of Tesla from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Evercore ISI increased their price target 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. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Tesla from $351.00 to $373.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Glj Research reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $319.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Tesla

In other news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $413.56, for a total transaction of $2,894,920.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,063,565.40. This trade represents a 6.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director James R. Murdoch sold 54,776 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 have sold 477,228 shares of company stock worth $166,849,043 over the last three months. Insiders own 20.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tesla

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TSLA. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in shares of 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. grew its position in Tesla by 75.6% in the 4th quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. GS Investments Inc. grew its position in Tesla by 193.3% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in Tesla in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Tesla in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Tesla Trading Down 4.0 %

The business’s 50-day moving average is $347.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $320.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $734.84 billion, a PE ratio of 111.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.50.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.66 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share 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.