Piper Sandler Has Lowered Expectations for Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Stock Price

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) had its target price reduced by analysts at Piper Sandler from $450.00 to $400.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the electric vehicle producer’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 60.39% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Tesla from $430.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on Tesla from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Tesla from $225.00 to $190.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, HSBC dropped their price target on shares of Tesla from $165.00 to $130.00 and set a “reduce” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Tesla presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $297.03.

Tesla Stock Performance

Shares of TSLA stock traded down $4.71 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $249.40. The company had a trading volume of 9,528,306 shares, compared to its average volume of 95,618,909. Tesla has a 52-week low of $138.80 and a 52-week high of $488.54. The stock has a market cap of $802.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 121.58, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.58. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $280.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $323.03.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last posted 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Tesla will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 112,390 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.04, for a total value of $43,162,255.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 85,000 shares in the company, valued at $32,643,400. This trade represents a 56.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $1,000,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 26,950 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,737,500. This represents a 12.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 374,228 shares of company stock worth $123,791,123 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 20.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in Tesla by 79.5% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 70 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Tesla by 75.6% during the fourth quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. GS Investments Inc. grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in shares of Tesla in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Tesla during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. 66.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.