Waddell & Associates LLC Takes Position in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)

Key Points

• Waddell & Associates LLC acquired 2,076 shares of Tesla, Inc. for approximately $538,000 in the first quarter, contributing to the growing interest from institutional investors in the company.
• Tesla's stock has been subject to various rating changes from analysts, with an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $302.75.
• In its latest earnings report, Tesla reported a EPS of $0.40, missing estimates, with quarterly revenue of $22.50 billion, down 11.8% year-over-year.

Waddell & Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,076 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock, valued at approximately $538,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Tesla by 86.3% during the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 95 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. First PREMIER Bank increased its position in Tesla by 79.2% in the first quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 95 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Newton One Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Tesla by 250.0% in the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 105 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI bought a new stake in shares of Tesla in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of Tesla by 79.5% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 70 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Tesla Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of TSLA traded down $3.22 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $317.98. The stock had a trading volume of 45,545,782 shares, compared to its average volume of 107,928,727. Tesla, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $182.00 and a fifty-two week high of $488.54. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $323.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $313.10. The firm has a market cap of $1.03 trillion, a P/E ratio of 183.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.13 and a beta of 2.39. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $22.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.18 billion. Tesla had a return on equity of 7.98% and a net margin of 6.54%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TSLA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. William Blair lowered Tesla from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Argus reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and set a $320.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $303.31.

Insider Activity at Tesla

In related news, SVP Xiaotong Zhu sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.81, for a total transaction of $4,857,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 67,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,889,556. This trade represents a 18.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ira Matthew Ehrenpreis sold 477,572 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $357.30, for a total transaction of $170,636,475.60. Following the sale, the director owned 855,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $305,632,276.20. This represents a 35.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 723,119 shares of company stock valued at $247,324,149. 20.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.