Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Reaches New 1-Year Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares reached a new 52-week low on Thursday after Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft now has a $123.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $189.00. Tesla traded as low as $148.70 and last traded at $149.85, with a volume of 21207353 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $155.45.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on TSLA. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Tesla from $320.00 to $310.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 4th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Tesla from $200.00 to $180.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Tesla from $225.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Tesla from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Tesla from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $194.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Tesla news, SVP Xiaotong Zhu sold 687 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.11, for a total transaction of $121,674.57. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 63,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,188,215.81. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 93,706 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.73, for a total transaction of $18,247,369.38. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,920,950. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Xiaotong Zhu sold 687 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.11, for a total transaction of $121,674.57. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 63,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,188,215.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 209,098 shares of company stock valued at $38,802,534 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 25.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TSLA. Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Tesla by 5,433.5% in the 1st quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 50,853 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $8,939,000 after buying an additional 49,934 shares during the period. Mirador Capital Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 36.5% in the first quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 7,208 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $1,267,000 after purchasing an additional 1,929 shares during the period. Clarity Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Tesla by 15.4% during the 1st quarter. Clarity Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,544 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $2,205,000 after purchasing an additional 1,673 shares during the period. Waterway Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Tesla by 103.5% in the first quarter. Waterway Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,701 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trilogy Capital Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Tesla by 133.0% in the 1st quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. now owns 4,294 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $755,000 after purchasing an additional 2,451 shares in the last quarter. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Tesla Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $479.02 billion, a PE ratio of 36.07, a PEG ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 2.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $180.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $212.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.03). Tesla had a return on equity of 16.62% and a net margin of 15.50%. The firm had revenue of $25.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.07 earnings per share. Tesla’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Tesla, Inc. will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Tesla Company Profile

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.