Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) Short Interest Up 21.2% in March

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 81,330,000 shares, a growth of 21.2% from the February 28th total of 67,130,000 shares. Currently, 3.2% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 93,410,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.9 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Cowen upgraded Tesla from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Tesla from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. HSBC decreased their target price on shares of Tesla from $165.00 to $130.00 and set a “reduce” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Tesla from $440.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Tesla from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $317.75.

Tesla Trading Up 4.5 %

NASDAQ TSLA traded up $12.20 on Wednesday, hitting $280.66. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 93,701,182 shares, compared to its average volume of 93,683,581. The firm has a market cap of $902.74 billion, a PE ratio of 136.27, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.50. The company’s 50-day moving average is $314.87 and its 200 day moving average is $323.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Tesla has a 1-year low of $138.80 and a 1-year high of $488.54.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.08). Tesla had a net margin of 7.26% and a return on equity of 10.31%. As a group, analysts predict that Tesla will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James R. Murdoch sold 54,776 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.79, for a total transaction of $13,189,513.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 477,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,859,478.69. This trade represents a 10.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 $2,222,802. The trade was a 94.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 477,228 shares of company stock worth $166,849,043. Company insiders own 20.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tesla

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