Piper Sandler Cuts Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Price Target to $450.00

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) had its price target lowered by Piper Sandler from $500.00 to $450.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the electric vehicle producer’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on TSLA. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. BTIG Research downgraded Tesla to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Thursday. Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Tesla in a research note on Monday, June 29th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Tesla has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $404.95.

Tesla Stock Performance

NASDAQ:TSLA opened at $313.03 on Friday. Tesla has a 52 week low of $297.82 and a 52 week high of $498.83. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $400.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $402.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market cap of $1.24 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 289.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.80 and a beta of 1.80.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.17). Tesla had a net margin of 3.67% and a return on equity of 3.82%. The company had revenue of $28.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.33 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Tesla will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 26,409 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.11, for a total transaction of $9,985,506.99. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 48,399 shares in the company, valued at $18,300,145.89. The trade was a 35.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,606 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.20, for a total value of $1,048,133.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 22,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,864,085.80. This trade represents a 10.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 32,015 shares of company stock worth $12,383,640 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 19.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Networth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Tesla during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Chapman Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Tesla in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Davidson Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Tesla by 79.4% during the 4th quarter. Davidson Capital Management Inc. now owns 61 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial grew its stake in Tesla by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. Friedenthal Financial now owns 75 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prism Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Tesla during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. 66.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Tesla

Here are the key news stories impacting Tesla this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Record quarterly revenue and deliveries show Tesla is still growing its top line. Tesla Just Delivered Record Sales—So Why Did the Stock Sell Off?
• Positive Sentiment: Some investors remain bullish on the long term, with ARK/Cathie Wood buying the dip after the post-earnings slump. Cathie Wood’s Ark Bought the Dip in Tesla Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Tesla continued to promote robotaxi and Optimus progress, but the market appears to want tangible revenue and execution milestones before rewarding those ambitions. Musk’s bad week: Tesla suffers worst slump since 2022, SpaceX drops ahead of Starship test flight
• Negative Sentiment: Q2 earnings missed expectations, and Tesla reported negative free cash flow as spending surged. Tesla’s once-bullish tone on robotaxis shifts
• Negative Sentiment: Management’s large 2026 capex plan and AI spending push are spooking investors over margins and cash burn. Tesla sees a $200 billion wipeout as investors pan Musk’s plan to spend ‘as fast as we can’
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts have been lowering price targets following the report, reflecting near-term profitability concerns. Tesla Stock Plunges as Analysts Slash Price Targets after Q2 Earnings Miss

Tesla Company Profile

Tesla, Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) is an American company that designs, manufactures and sells electric vehicles, energy generation and energy storage products. Founded in 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, Tesla grew into a vertically integrated mobility and clean‑energy company with Elon Musk serving as its chief executive officer. The company’s stated mission is to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy, reflected in its combined focus on electric drivetrains, battery technology, renewable energy products and software.

Tesla’s automotive business includes a lineup of battery‑electric vehicles and related services.