DnB Asset Management AS Sells 16,491 Shares of Tesla, Inc. $TSLA

Key Points

• DnB Asset Management AS reduced its Tesla shares by 2.7%, selling 16,491 shares and holding 605,566 shares valued at approximately $156.9 million.
• Multiple institutional investors have adjusted their Tesla stakes, with significant increases from firms like Graney & King LLC and Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc..
• Analysts have varied ratings on Tesla, with a price target range from $175.00 to $349.00, and a consensus price target of $303.31.

DnB Asset Management AS trimmed its position in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 605,566 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock after selling 16,491 shares during the period. Tesla accounts for 0.7% of DnB Asset Management AS's portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. DnB Asset Management AS's holdings in Tesla were worth $156,938,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Acorn Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Tesla by 1.9% during the first quarter. Acorn Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,901 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $493,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Solutions 4 Wealth Ltd grew its stake in shares of Tesla by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Solutions 4 Wealth Ltd now owns 1,815 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $470,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Capital Management Associates Inc increased its position in Tesla by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Capital Management Associates Inc now owns 1,166 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC raised its stake in Tesla by 18.4% during the first quarter. Graney & King LLC now owns 245 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. raised its stake in Tesla by 3.8% during the first quarter. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. now owns 1,054 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim restated a "sell" rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Tesla from $305.00 to $341.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. UBS Group set a $290.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, China Renaissance reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $349.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a research report on Friday, July 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and nine have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Tesla currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $303.31.

Tesla Trading Up 1.4%

NASDAQ:TSLA opened at $334.09 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $323.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $302.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.08 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 193.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.61 and a beta of 2.06. Tesla, Inc. has a one year low of $210.51 and a one year high of $488.54.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last announced 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). Tesla had a net margin of 6.54% and a return on equity of 7.98%. The company had revenue of $22.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Xiaotong Zhu sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 67,600 shares of the company's stock, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 4,000 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.89, for a total value of $1,171,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 5,924 shares in the company, valued at $1,735,080.36. This trade represents a 40.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 143,564 shares of company stock worth $49,396,070. 20.70% of the stock is owned by 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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