Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Raises Position in Tesla, Inc. $TSLA

Key Points

• Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC has increased its stake in Tesla by 13.0%, owning 16,065 shares valued at $4,164,000 after acquiring an additional 1,849 shares in the first quarter.
• Several other large investors also adjusted their positions in Tesla during the same quarter, with hedge funds and institutional investors collectively owning 66.20% of the stock.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Tesla, with a consensus rating of "Hold", while estimates suggest an EPS of 2.56 for the current fiscal year despite the company missing previous earnings expectations.

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Free Report) by 13.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,065 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock after buying an additional 1,849 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC's holdings in Tesla were worth $4,164,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TSLA. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Tesla by 86.3% during the 1st 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 period. First PREMIER Bank lifted its position in shares of Tesla by 79.2% during the 1st quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 95 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Newton One Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Tesla by 250.0% during the 1st quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 105 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI bought a new stake in shares of Tesla during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in shares of Tesla by 79.5% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 70 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 66.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on TSLA shares. 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. HSBC reissued a "reduce" rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Sunday, August 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Tesla from $303.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and nine have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $303.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 6,000 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $341.02, for a total value of $2,046,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,950 shares in the company, valued at approximately $664,989. The trade was a 75.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Xiaotong Zhu sold 15,000 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.81, for a total value of $4,857,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 30,564 shares of company stock worth $9,757,390 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 20.70% of the company's stock.

Tesla Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ TSLA traded down $3.62 during trading on Thursday, reaching $345.98. 67,693,950 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 104,155,445. Tesla, Inc. has a 52-week low of $205.97 and a 52-week high of $488.54. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $322.87 and a 200-day moving average of $303.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.12 trillion, a P/E ratio of 199.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.23 and a beta of 2.33.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.40 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 firm had revenue of $22.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tesla Company Profile

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.