Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Lifted to Hold at StockNews.com

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on TSLA. Glj Research reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $24.86 target price on shares of Tesla in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $280.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Tesla in a report on Thursday, August 29th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Tesla from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of Tesla from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $147.00 to $197.00 in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Tesla presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $218.18.

Tesla Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TSLA traded up $46.83 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $260.48. The company had a trading volume of 203,681,145 shares, compared to its average volume of 94,351,078. The stock has a market cap of $832.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 73.17, a P/E/G ratio of 6.24 and a beta of 2.29. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $228.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $206.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Tesla has a 52-week low of $138.80 and a 52-week high of $271.00.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.14. Tesla had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 10.41%. The firm had revenue of $25.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.53 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Tesla will post 1.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Tesla

In related news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $2,000,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 105,032 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,258,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Xiaotong Zhu sold 297 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.77, for a total transaction of $65,865.69. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 67,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,967,479.07. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $2,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 105,032 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,258,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 20.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Tesla

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Tesla by 35,611.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 11,054,391 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $2,892,160,000 after acquiring an additional 11,023,436 shares during the period. Clean Energy Transition LLP grew its holdings in Tesla by 347.7% during the second quarter. Clean Energy Transition LLP now owns 4,818,600 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $953,505,000 after purchasing an additional 6,764,300 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its position in Tesla by 21,816.0% in the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 5,902,416 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $1,167,970,000 after buying an additional 5,875,484 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Tesla by 1.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 233,602,120 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $41,064,917,000 after buying an additional 3,795,748 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in shares of Tesla by 236.8% during the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,104,010 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $416,341,000 after buying an additional 1,479,378 shares in the last quarter. 66.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.