Morgan Stanley Reaffirms Overweight Rating for Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA)

Morgan Stanley reissued their overweight rating on shares of Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $310.00 target price on the electric vehicle producer’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on TSLA. UBS Group lowered Tesla from a neutral rating to a sell rating and boosted their price target for the company from $147.00 to $197.00 in a report on Friday, July 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a neutral rating and set a $245.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Wolfe Research started coverage on Tesla in a report on Thursday. They set a peer perform rating on the stock. Truist Financial reiterated a hold rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Tesla from $222.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Tesla has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $204.21.

Tesla Stock Performance

Shares of Tesla stock opened at $210.73 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $673.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 2.29. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $224.47 and its 200-day moving average is $193.60. Tesla has a one year low of $138.80 and a one year high of $278.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.40.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $25.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.38 billion. Tesla had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 10.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Tesla will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 66,364 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.96, for a total transaction of $14,597,425.44. Following the sale, the director now owns 85,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,696,600. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 25.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in Tesla during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Tesla by 168.8% during the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new stake in Tesla during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A acquired a new stake in Tesla during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Guardian Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Tesla during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.20% of the company’s stock.

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.