Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the thirty-seven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $322.29.

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Tesla from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. New Street Research upgraded Tesla from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $460.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Tesla from $195.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Tesla from $295.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $365.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th.

Tesla Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:TSLA opened at $374.32 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.20 trillion, a PE ratio of 183.49, a P/E/G ratio of 6.79 and a beta of 2.34. 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 12-month low of $138.80 and a 12-month high of $488.54. The business has a 50 day moving average of $407.11 and a 200-day moving average of $302.26.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.08). Tesla had a return on equity of 10.31% and a net margin of 7.26%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Tesla will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.02, for a total transaction of $34,602,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,868,508. This represents a 94.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 4,000 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $1,400,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 105,032 shares in the company, valued at $36,761,200. This trade represents a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 664,776 shares of company stock valued at $239,746,862. Insiders own 20.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TSLA. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Tesla by 1,248.9% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 199,229 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $52,124,000 after acquiring an additional 184,459 shares in the last quarter. Destination Wealth Management grew its holdings in Tesla by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. Destination Wealth Management now owns 12,597 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $3,296,000 after buying an additional 1,359 shares in the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd increased its position in shares of Tesla by 59.2% during the third quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 117,457 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $30,593,000 after buying an additional 43,685 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 3.3% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 309,382 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $80,944,000 after buying an additional 9,919 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in Tesla by 1.2% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 144,482 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $37,801,000 after acquiring an additional 1,741 shares in the last quarter. 66.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.