Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Stock Rating Reaffirmed as Outperform by Royal Bank Of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed its “Outperform” rating on Tesla and set a $480 price target, implying approximately 26.9% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Tesla has an average MarketBeat rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $408.61, despite several bullish ratings and targets as high as $500.
• Tesla’s latest quarterly results modestly exceeded EPS expectations at $0.48 versus $0.45, but revenue was essentially flat year over year and the company faces concerns over declining automotive revenue, rising AI and robotics costs, and reduced capital-spending guidance.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating restated by equities researchers at Royal Bank Of Canada in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $480.00 target price on the electric vehicle producer's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 26.92% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research firms have also commented on TSLA. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Thursday. Yorkville Ives initiated coverage on shares of Tesla in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $500.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $420.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a research report on Monday, July 27th. DZ Bank raised shares of Tesla from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Tesla from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $266.00 to $420.00 in a research report on Thursday. One 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Tesla has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $408.61.

Tesla Price Performance

TSLA traded down $8.28 on Thursday, reaching $378.19. The company had a trading volume of 35,224,894 shares, compared to its average volume of 50,555,879. The company has a fifty day moving average of $362.72 and a 200-day moving average of $377.16. The company has a market capitalization of $1.49 trillion, a P/E ratio of 349.89, a PEG ratio of 23.73 and a beta of 1.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Tesla has a one year low of $297.38 and a one year high of $498.83.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.03. Tesla had a net margin of 3.67% and a return on equity of 3.82%. The firm had revenue of $28.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.50 EPS. Tesla's revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Tesla will post 0.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,606 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.13, for a total value of $938,498.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 25,972 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,353,296.36. The trade was a 9.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through 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 institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of TSLA. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Tesla by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 117,456,756 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $49,402,312,000 after purchasing an additional 2,761,298 shares during the period. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Tesla by 14.0% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 22,174,884 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $8,243,513,000 after purchasing an additional 2,727,141 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Tesla during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $8,535,612,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Tesla during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,083,630,000. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY raised its stake in shares of Tesla by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 12,524,752 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $5,267,911,000 after purchasing an additional 591,243 shares in the last quarter. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Tesla News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Tesla this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Tesla reported adjusted earnings of $0.48 per share, above the $0.45 consensus estimate, and generated approximately $1.5 billion in positive free cash flow versus expectations for a substantial cash outflow. Tesla Q3 earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Full Self-Driving adoption exceeded 75% of North American deliveries, while subscription growth, expanding Cybercab robotaxi operations and the start of Optimus humanoid-robot production support Tesla’s longer-term autonomy and robotics strategy. Tesla long-term investor takeaways
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts raised targets or maintained bullish ratings, including Mizuho at $460, RBC at $480 and Bank of America at $460, citing potential growth from FSD, robotaxis, Optimus and energy storage.
• Neutral Sentiment: Elon Musk endorsed exploring a Tesla-SpaceX merger, which could combine AI, robotics, chips, satellite infrastructure and transportation assets. However, independent committees must negotiate terms, and the deal would require shareholder and regulatory approval. Tesla-SpaceX merger discussions
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue was essentially flat year over year at about $28.05 billion, automotive revenue declined, and operating income fell 56% as AI, robotics and autonomy expenses increased. The company’s roughly $1.5 trillion valuation leaves little room for disappointing execution.
• Negative Sentiment: Tesla reduced its 2026 capital-expenditure outlook from more than $25 billion to $20 billion. Investors viewed the cut as potentially signaling slower progress for AI infrastructure, robotaxis and Optimus, despite management’s ambitious transportation vision. Tesla spending outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Energy revenue reportedly missed estimates, unsold-vehicle concerns remain, and unsupervised FSD for personal vehicles is not expected until 2027. Cybercab plans also face regulatory scrutiny, adding execution risk to Tesla’s high-growth narrative.

Tesla Company Profile

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.