Mengis Capital Management Inc. Purchases Shares of 717 Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)

Mengis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 717 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock, valued at approximately $290,000.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 7,000 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.43, for a total transaction of $2,481,010.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 105,032 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,226,491.76. The trade was a 6.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $352.54, for a total value of $35,254,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,903,716. This represents a 94.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 523,386 shares of company stock worth $195,995,200. 20.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TSLA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Tesla from $480.00 to $440.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “cautious” rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Monday, February 10th. Glj Research reissued a “sell” rating and set a $24.86 price target on shares of Tesla in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Tesla from $195.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $319.57.

Tesla Stock Performance

NASDAQ TSLA opened at $290.80 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $390.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $315.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.61. Tesla, Inc. has a 1 year low of $138.80 and a 1 year high of $488.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $935.36 billion, a PE ratio of 142.55, a P/E/G ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.34.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.66 earnings per share (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%. Analysts predict 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.