Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Stock Moved Down to Sell by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Tesla from “hold” to “sell,” contrasting with a broader analyst consensus of “Hold” and an average price target of $408.61. Ratings remain divided, including 24 Buy, 20 Hold and 3 Sell recommendations.
• Tesla reported quarterly EPS of $0.48, beating the $0.46 consensus, while revenue of $28.05 billion was essentially in line with estimates and declined 0.2% year over year.
• Despite growth prospects in full self-driving, robotaxis, robotics and energy storage, investors face execution concerns as automotive and energy revenue declined, operating income fell 56%, and Tesla reduced its 2026 capital-expenditure outlook to about $20 billion.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on TSLA. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $505.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. BNP Paribas Exane raised Tesla from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $266.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Thursday. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Tesla in a research note on Thursday. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, twenty have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $408.61.

Tesla Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of TSLA opened at $372.22 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.47 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 513.12, a PEG ratio of 23.78 and a beta of 1.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 1.74. Tesla has a fifty-two week low of $297.38 and a fifty-two week high of $498.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $364.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $377.22.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.02. Tesla had a net margin of 3.11% and a return on equity of 3.03%. The company had revenue of $28.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $28.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.50 EPS. The firm's revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Tesla will post 0.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Tesla news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,606 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.13, for a total transaction of $938,498.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 25,972 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,353,296.36. This represents a 9.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 19.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tesla

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA purchased a new stake in Tesla in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Friedenthal Financial increased its stake in shares of Tesla by 66.7% during the first quarter. Friedenthal Financial now owns 75 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Harborfront Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Tesla during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Lam Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Tesla during the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Montgomery Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Tesla during the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 66.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Tesla News

Here are the key news stories impacting Tesla this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Tesla beat third-quarter adjusted earnings expectations, reporting $0.48 per share versus the $0.45 consensus estimate, and generated approximately $1.5 billion in positive free cash flow. Tesla Surpasses Q3 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Paid Full Self-Driving adoption exceeded 75% of North American deliveries, with subscriptions increasing 67% year over year. Investors view FSD, robotaxis, Optimus robots, and Megapack energy storage as potential long-term growth engines. Tesla’s FSD Subscriptions Surge
• Positive Sentiment: European sales reportedly strengthened, while Tesla is expanding its Cybercab robotaxi program beyond Austin and developing AI-based mapping from fleet data. These developments support the company’s autonomy narrative, although commercialization remains early. Tesla Europe Sales Surge
• Neutral Sentiment: Elon Musk called a SpaceX-Tesla merger a “good idea,” and both companies reportedly formed special committees to study a combination. Potential benefits include shared work in AI, chips, robotics, connectivity, and energy, but no transaction is certain. SpaceX-Tesla Merger Chatter
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts remain divided: Morgan Stanley raised its target to $410 with an equal-weight rating, while RBC maintained an outperform rating and a $480 target. Bullish forecasts depend heavily on successful autonomy and robotics execution.
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue was essentially flat year over year at about $28 billion, automotive revenue fell 3%, energy-generation and storage revenue declined 16%, and GAAP operating income dropped 56%. Refunds and other factors also clouded the reported margin improvement. Tesla Automotive and Energy Revenue Results
• Negative Sentiment: Tesla reduced its 2026 capital-expenditure outlook from more than $25 billion to approximately $20 billion after third-quarter spending trailed expectations. Investors worry the pullback could delay AI, robotics, and robotaxi ambitions. Tesla Spending Pullback
• Negative Sentiment: Tesla will refund Cybertruck deposits in Australia and New Zealand, signaling reduced regional ambitions for the troubled vehicle. Regulatory scrutiny of the Cybercab and delays in unsupervised FSD add further execution risk.
• Negative Sentiment: The broader Nasdaq sell-off, renewed doubts about AI spending returns, higher oil prices, and geopolitical tensions have pressured high-valuation technology stocks, including TSLA.

About Tesla

Tesla, Inc is an electric vehicle and clean energy company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Founded in 2003, the company designs, manufactures and sells electric vehicles, including the Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y and Cybertruck. Tesla also develops vehicle software, driver-assistance features and related services intended to support the operation and ownership of its vehicles.

Beyond automobiles, Tesla produces energy storage products for residential, commercial and utility-scale applications, including the Powerwall and Megapack.

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