Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Raised to Buy at China Renaissance

China Renaissance upgraded shares of Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Friday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $290.00 price objective on the electric vehicle producer’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an overweight rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Tesla from $293.00 to $227.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Tesla from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Tesla from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an in-line rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a hold rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $192.71.

Tesla Stock Performance

Shares of Tesla stock opened at $252.94 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $806.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.24 and a beta of 2.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The business has a 50-day moving average of $186.94 and a 200 day moving average of $190.84. Tesla has a 12 month low of $138.80 and a 12 month high of $299.29.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.35. Tesla had a net margin of 14.37% and a return on equity of 13.18%. The business had revenue of $21.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.15 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Tesla will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 93,705 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.86, for a total value of $17,322,306.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,772,900. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Xiaotong Zhu sold 650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.21, for a total value of $113,236.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 65,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,350,652.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 93,705 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.86, for a total transaction of $17,322,306.30. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 15,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,772,900. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 20.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Tesla by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 10,554 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $2,622,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Cravens & Co Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Tesla by 1.2% in the third quarter. Cravens & Co Advisors LLC now owns 4,095 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $1,025,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN raised its stake in shares of Tesla by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 4,601 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $1,143,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Caerus Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Tesla by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Caerus Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,395 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $3,577,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salvus Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Tesla by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,617 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $402,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.