Smith Thornton Advisors LLC Has $759,000 Position in Tesla, Inc. $TSLA

Key Points

• Smith Thornton Advisors LLC increased its position in Tesla, Inc. by 81.2% during the 2nd quarter, owning 2,388 shares valued at $759,000 at the end of the reporting period.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Tesla with two Strong Buy ratings, twenty-one Buy ratings, and ten Sell ratings, leading to an average target price of $363.54.
• In recent insider activity, Tesla's CFO sold 2,606 shares for approximately $918,302, reflecting a 20.91% decrease in ownership.

Smith Thornton Advisors LLC boosted its position in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Free Report) by 81.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,388 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock after purchasing an additional 1,070 shares during the quarter. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC's holdings in Tesla were worth $759,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI bought a new stake in Tesla in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Chelsea Counsel Co. boosted its stake in Tesla by 59.7% in the 1st quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. now owns 107 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Centennial Bank AR boosted its stake in Tesla by 833.3% in the 1st quarter. Centennial Bank AR now owns 112 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Tesla in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Tesla by 360.0% in the 1st quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 115 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on TSLA shares. William Blair reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Glj Research reiterated a "sell" rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays reiterated a "negative" rating and set a $350.00 target price (up from $275.00) on shares of Tesla in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Tesla from $115.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $483.00 target price on Tesla and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and ten have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $363.54.

Tesla Stock Performance

Tesla stock opened at $447.43 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $389.71 and a 200-day moving average of $335.51. Tesla, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.11 and a 1 year 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 market capitalization of $1.49 trillion, a P/E ratio of 258.63, a P/E/G ratio of 15.79 and a beta of 2.08.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $22.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,606 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.38, for a total value of $918,302.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 9,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,473,057.28. This represents a 20.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Xiaotong Zhu sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $363.75, for a total value of $7,275,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 47,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,314,500. The trade was a 29.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 202,606 shares of company stock valued at $75,588,902. Company insiders own 19.90% of the company's stock.

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.

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