Sfm LLC Takes Position in Tesla, Inc. $TSLA

Key Points

• Sfm LLC has taken a new position in Tesla, purchasing 680 shares valued at approximately $216,000 during the second quarter.
• Insider trading activity included a significant sale where Director James R. Murdoch sold 60,000 shares for over $25 million, reducing his ownership by 8.61%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Tesla stock, with Bank of America increasing its target price to $341.00 and a total of two Strong Buy ratings among others.

Sfm LLC purchased a new position in shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 680 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of TSLA. Means Investment CO. Inc. grew its holdings in Tesla by 37.7% during the first quarter. Means Investment CO. Inc. now owns 23,089 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $5,984,000 after buying an additional 6,323 shares in the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. lifted its position in shares of Tesla by 3.1% during the first quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 22,467 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $5,823,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares in the last quarter. Siren L.L.C. bought a new stake in Tesla in the 1st quarter worth about $2,332,000. Zuckerman Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Tesla by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Zuckerman Investment Group LLC now owns 12,748 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $3,304,000 after buying an additional 826 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keystone Global Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Tesla during the first quarter valued at approximately $594,000. Institutional investors own 66.20% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James R. Murdoch sold 60,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $422.68, for a total transaction of $25,360,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 637,031 shares in the company, valued at $269,260,263.08. This represents a 8.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Xiaotong Zhu sold 20,000 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $363.75, for a total transaction of $7,275,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 47,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,314,500. This trade represents a 29.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 208,606 shares of company stock valued at $77,360,462 over the last ninety days. 19.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on TSLA shares. Bank of America lifted 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. Daiwa Capital Markets restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Sunday, July 27th. Baird R W raised shares of Tesla from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. UBS Group reissued a "sell" rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Argus restated a "hold" rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and nine have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $332.33.

Tesla Trading Up 4.0%

NASDAQ TSLA opened at $440.40 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $352.05 and a 200-day moving average of $315.40. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.11 and a 1-year high of $488.54. The firm has a market cap of $1.46 trillion, a PE ratio of 254.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 15.36 and a beta of 2.06.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

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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