LS Investment Advisors LLC Purchases 755 Shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)

LS Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) by 130.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,335 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 755 shares during the period. LS Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Tesla were worth $346,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TSLA. Wealth Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Tesla during the fourth quarter worth $275,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new stake in shares of Tesla in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,361,000. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new stake in shares of Tesla in the 4th quarter valued at about $374,000. Eagle Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Tesla during the fourth quarter worth about $331,000. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Tesla by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 87,929 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $35,509,000 after buying an additional 9,293 shares in the last quarter. 66.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Tesla Stock Down 3.5%

NASDAQ TSLA opened at $332.05 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a market cap of $1.07 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 162.77, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.47. The company has a 50 day moving average of $291.12 and a 200-day moving average of $334.34. Tesla, Inc. has a 1-year low of $167.41 and a 1-year high of $488.54.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.26). The company had revenue of $19.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.93 billion. Tesla had a return on equity of 10.31% and a net margin of 7.26%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.45 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James R. Murdoch sold 54,776 shares of the 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 sale, the director now owns 477,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,859,478.69. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 1,000 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $350,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 1,950 shares in the company, valued at $682,500. This trade represents a 33.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 870,721 shares of company stock worth $286,248,728. Company insiders own 20.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group cut their target price on Tesla from $225.00 to $190.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Tesla from $420.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Roth Mkm lowered their price target on shares of Tesla from $450.00 to $395.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Argus set a $410.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $293.97.

Tesla 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.