Wedbush Securities Inc. Reduces Holdings in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)

Wedbush Securities Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 68,292 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock after selling 2,053 shares during the quarter. Tesla makes up about 1.0% of Wedbush Securities Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Tesla were worth $27,579,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of TSLA. Horrell Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Tesla by 75.6% during the fourth 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 last quarter. GS Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Tesla by 193.3% during 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 during the last quarter. CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Tesla during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Tesla by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new position in Tesla in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.20% of the company’s stock.

Tesla Trading Down 10.4 %

Shares of Tesla stock opened at $239.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.02. The company has a market capitalization of $770.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 117.37, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.58. Tesla, Inc. has a 1 year low of $138.80 and a 1 year high of $488.54. The company’s fifty day moving average is $305.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $322.90.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on TSLA. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Cowen raised Tesla from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Tesla from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Glj Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Tesla from $490.00 to $380.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $312.65.

Insider Transactions at Tesla

In related news, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.63, for a total value of $41,163,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,400 shares in the company, valued at $2,222,802. This trade represents a 94.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 7,000 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $413.56, for a total value of $2,894,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,965 shares in the company, valued at $45,063,565.40. This represents a 6.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 477,228 shares of company stock worth $166,849,043 over the last 90 days. 20.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.