Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Coverage Initiated at Stifel Nicolaus

Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) in a report published on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $265.00 target price on the electric vehicle producer’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Tesla from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an overweight rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Roth Mkm restated a neutral rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird restated an outperform rating and set a $280.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Tesla from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an in-line rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $187.30.

Tesla Stock Performance

Shares of Tesla stock opened at $197.88 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $631.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.48, a P/E/G ratio of 4.87 and a beta of 2.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Tesla has a 12 month low of $138.80 and a 12 month high of $299.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $177.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $192.03.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.35. Tesla had a return on equity of 13.18% and a net margin of 14.37%. The company had revenue of $21.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.15 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Tesla will post 1.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Tesla

In other Tesla news, SVP Andrew D. Baglino sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.20, for a total value of $1,850,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,502,726. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 93,705 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.86, for a total value of $17,322,306.30. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,772,900. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Andrew D. Baglino sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.20, for a total value of $1,850,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,502,726. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 104,855 shares of company stock worth $19,285,643 in the last three months. 25.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tesla

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of TSLA. Wyrmwood Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Tesla in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Lam Group Inc. acquired a new position in Tesla during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Tesla by 202.2% during the 4th quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 136 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A acquired a new position in Tesla during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. lifted its stake in Tesla by 111.1% during the 4th quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. now owns 190 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.20% of the company’s stock.

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.