Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday after Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on the stock from $440.00 to $320.00. The stock had previously closed at $238.01, but opened at $228.16. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Tesla shares last traded at $223.96, with a volume of 20,064,175 shares.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Roth Mkm raised Tesla from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $380.00 in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley restated a “top pick” rating and issued a $430.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Tesla from $440.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Tesla from $492.00 to $474.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Tesla from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Tesla presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $319.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 100,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now owns 5,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,222,802. This represents a 94.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $413.56, for a total value of $2,894,920.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 108,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,063,565.40. This trade represents a 6.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 477,228 shares of company stock valued at $166,849,043. Corporate insiders own 20.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in Tesla by 79.5% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 70 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Horrell Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Tesla by 75.6% in the 4th quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. GS Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in shares of Tesla in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Tesla in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.20% of the company’s stock.

Tesla Trading Down 5.9 %

The firm has a market cap of $720.38 billion, a PE ratio of 109.79, a P/E/G ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $347.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $320.53.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last announced its earnings results 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%. Analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current 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.