Comerica Bank Reduces Stock Position in Tesla, Inc. $TSLA

Key Points

• Comerica Bank has decreased its stake in Tesla, Inc. by 1.7%, holding 384,390 shares valued at approximately $99.6 million after selling 6,736 shares.
• Tesla's recent quarterly earnings missed expectations with $0.40 EPS reported, compared to an expected $0.43 EPS, and total revenue of $22.5 billion below analyst estimates of $23.18 billion.
• Several analysts have revised their price targets on Tesla stock, with Canaccord Genuity increasing their target from $303 to $333, while Benchmark raised it from $350 to $475.

Comerica Bank trimmed its position in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Free Report) by 1.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 384,390 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock after selling 6,736 shares during the period. Comerica Bank's holdings in Tesla were worth $99,619,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Eagle Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Tesla during the 4th quarter worth $331,000. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Tesla by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 87,929 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $35,509,000 after purchasing an additional 9,293 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Tesla by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,317 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $2,147,000 after buying an additional 931 shares during the period. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Tesla in the 4th quarter worth about $346,000. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE purchased a new stake in Tesla in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,367,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.20% of the company's stock.

Tesla Stock Performance

Tesla stock opened at $340.01 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 196.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.82 and a beta of 2.33. Tesla, Inc. has a one year low of $202.59 and a one year high of $488.54. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $321.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $303.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.04.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on TSLA. William Blair downgraded shares of Tesla from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Tesla from $303.00 to $333.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $475.00 target price (up from $350.00) on shares of Tesla in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Sunday, August 17th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Tesla from $305.00 to $341.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and nine have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $303.31.

Insider Activity

In other Tesla news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $341.02, for a total transaction of $2,046,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 1,950 shares in the company, valued at $664,989. This trade represents a 75.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ira Matthew Ehrenpreis sold 477,572 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $357.30, for a total value of $170,636,475.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 855,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $305,632,276.20. The trade was a 35.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 599,724 shares of company stock worth $213,126,501. 20.70% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.

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