Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Down 8.6% on Analyst Downgrade

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares dropped 8.6% on Monday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $259.00 to $225.00. UBS Group currently has a sell rating on the stock. Tesla traded as low as $237.60 and last traded at $240.09. Approximately 53,467,303 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 35% from the average daily volume of 81,670,172 shares. The stock had previously closed at $262.67.

TSLA has been the subject of several other reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Tesla from $315.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Tesla from $492.00 to $474.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Tesla from $295.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Tesla from $440.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a research note on Friday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $326.31.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.63, for a total transaction of $41,163,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,222,802. This trade represents a 94.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,965 shares in the company, valued at $45,063,565.40. The trade was a 6.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 422,452 shares of company stock valued at $153,659,530. 20.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tesla

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in TSLA. True Wealth Design LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Horrell Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Tesla by 75.6% during the 4th quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in 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 acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in Tesla during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Tesla during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Tesla Stock Down 8.7 %

The stock has a market cap of $771.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 117.69, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The business’s fifty day moving average is $367.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $319.38.

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 return on equity of 10.31% and a net margin of 7.26%. Equities analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.