Prudential PLC Grows Position in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)

Key Points

• Prudential PLC increased its stake in Tesla by 3.2%, owning a total of 265,314 shares valued at approximately $68.76 million.
• Recent earnings showed Tesla reported an EPS of $0.40, missing the expected $0.43, with revenue down 11.8% year-over-year at $22.50 billion.
• Analysts have set varied price targets for Tesla, with Bank of America raising its target to $341 while Benchmark set a more optimistic target of $475.

Prudential PLC grew its stake in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Free Report) by 3.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 265,314 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock after purchasing an additional 8,299 shares during the period. Tesla comprises approximately 0.3% of Prudential PLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Prudential PLC's holdings in Tesla were worth $68,759,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of TSLA. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Tesla by 86.3% in the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 95 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. First PREMIER Bank boosted its position in Tesla by 79.2% in the 1st quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 95 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Newton One Investments LLC boosted its position in Tesla by 250.0% in the 1st quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 105 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI acquired a new position in shares of Tesla during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake 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 worth $28,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.20% of the company's stock.

Tesla Trading Up 2.8%

Shares of NASDAQ TSLA opened at $339.03 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $318.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $306.24. Tesla, Inc. has a twelve month low of $194.67 and a twelve month high of $488.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 195.97, a PEG ratio of 11.46 and a beta of 2.33. 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 announced its 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 quarter last year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on TSLA shares. Bank of America upped their target price on Tesla from $305.00 to $341.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $475.00 target price (up from $350.00) on shares of Tesla in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Raymond James Financial downgraded Tesla to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial set a $280.00 target price on Tesla in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, China Renaissance reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $349.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $303.31.

Insider Transactions at Tesla

In related news, SVP Xiaotong Zhu sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $21,889,556. This trade represents a 18.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Ira Matthew Ehrenpreis sold 477,572 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director owned 855,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at $305,632,276.20. This trade represents a 35.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 602,724 shares of company stock valued at $214,176,831. Insiders own 20.70% of the company's stock.

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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