Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Stock Falls 1.5% on Analyst Downgrade

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s stock price dropped 1.5% during trading on Friday after BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price target on the stock from $280.00 to $268.00. BNP Paribas Exane currently has an underperform rating on the stock. Tesla traded as low as $367.67 and last traded at $372.11. 44,520,130 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 15% from the average session volume of 52,092,781 shares. The stock had previously closed at $377.94.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on TSLA. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $505.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Citizens Jmp began coverage on Tesla in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Glj Research restated a “sell” rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Friday, September 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Truist Financial set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Tesla and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, nineteen have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $411.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,606 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.13, for a total value of $938,498.78. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 25,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,353,296.36. This represents a 9.12% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 19.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Tesla News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Tesla this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Tesla has begun customer deliveries and high-volume production of its all-electric Semi truck at a new Nevada factory. The long-range version is designed to travel up to 500 miles when loaded, and Tesla is targeting annual capacity of 50,000 trucks. Rising diesel prices could improve the economic case for fleet operators. Tesla Starts Semi Deliveries Nearly Nine Years After Unveiling
• Positive Sentiment: The company reportedly secured a 2,500-truck electric Class 8 order, providing an early commercial demand signal for the Semi and supporting Tesla’s push beyond passenger vehicles. However, investors remain focused on margins, spending and execution as production scales.
• Positive Sentiment: A new teaser ahead of the October 1 next-generation Roadster reveal has renewed enthusiasm around Tesla’s product pipeline and helped maintain interest in its upcoming vehicle launches.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains divided. Some see Tesla’s robotics, autonomous-driving and AI initiatives as potentially supporting software-like valuations, while others argue the company still generates most of its revenue from automobiles and trades at an exceptionally demanding multiple.
• Negative Sentiment: The European Union postponed an expected vote on Tesla’s supervised FSD system. The October 6 agenda calls for further discussion rather than a decision, making December the earliest apparent opportunity for bloc-wide approval. The delay limits near-term regulatory and subscription-revenue upside. EU vote on Tesla’s supervised self-driving system pushed back
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Tesla is encountering supplier constraints and bottlenecks in manufacturing Optimus robot hands raise questions about the timing and scalability of one of the company’s major AI and robotics bets.
• Negative Sentiment: The Semi launch did not provide a detailed initial delivery or production timetable beyond the 50,000-unit annual target, disappointing investors seeking evidence of near-term financial impact. Tesla’s rich valuation makes execution disappointments more consequential.

Institutional Trading of Tesla

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of TSLA. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Tesla during the fourth quarter worth about $17,128,100,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Tesla by 3,205.5% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 21,459,599 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $9,650,811,000 after purchasing an additional 20,810,386 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Tesla during the second quarter valued at approximately $8,535,612,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Tesla during the second quarter valued at approximately $6,083,630,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in shares of Tesla during the second quarter valued at approximately $4,039,090,000. 66.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Tesla Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 1.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.47 trillion, a P/E ratio of 344.55, a PEG ratio of 19.13 and a beta of 1.84. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $347.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $378.97.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.17). Tesla had a net margin of 3.67% and a return on equity of 3.82%. The company had revenue of $28.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.42 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.33 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 25.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 0.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Tesla

Tesla, Inc is an American technology and automotive company that designs, develops, manufactures and sells electric vehicles and related energy products. Its vehicle lineup has included the Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y and Cybertruck, along with commercial and specialty products such as the Tesla Semi.

The company also develops energy-generation and storage products, including solar panels, solar roofing systems and battery storage solutions for residential, commercial and utility customers.