The Goldman Sachs Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Stock Price

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) had its price objective decreased by The Goldman Sachs Group from $320.00 to $275.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the electric vehicle producer’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 1.95% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. TD Cowen raised shares of Tesla from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $388.00 in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $404.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a report on Monday, March 17th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Tesla from $515.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Tesla from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Tesla 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $312.65.

Tesla Stock Performance

Tesla stock traded down $13.01 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $269.75. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 97,661,387 shares, compared to its average volume of 94,045,317. The company has a market capitalization of $867.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 132.23, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $312.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $323.20. Tesla has a 12-month low of $138.80 and a 12-month high of $488.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.02.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Tesla will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 112,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $384.04, for a total value of $43,162,255.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 85,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,643,400. This trade represents a 56.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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. The trade was a 6.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 477,228 shares of company stock worth $166,849,043. 20.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Tesla

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hengehold Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Tesla by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 1,347 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $544,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Advisors MI grew its position in shares of Tesla by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI now owns 6,990 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $2,823,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Acropolis Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Tesla by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 2,814 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $1,136,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Mount Vernon Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Tesla by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Mount Vernon Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,305 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $2,950,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vista Finance LLC grew its holdings in Tesla by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vista Finance LLC now owns 3,510 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. 66.20% of the stock is owned by 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.