Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Has $42.78 Million Stake in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)

Key Points

• Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Tesla shares by 14.5% during the 1st quarter, bringing its total holdings to 165,056 shares valued at approximately $42.78 million.
• Tesla's stock experienced a noticeable 3.5% increase in midday trading, reaching $316.06, following recent earnings results that fell short of analyst expectations.
• Institutional investors now own 66.20% of Tesla's stock, with ongoing trading activity reflected by multiple hedge funds actively increasing their positions in the company.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Free Report) by 14.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 165,056 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock after acquiring an additional 20,934 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Tesla were worth $42,776,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 79.5% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 70 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Navigoe LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Tesla in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 86.3% in the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 95 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. First PREMIER Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 79.2% in the 1st quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 95 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Tesla in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors own 66.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on TSLA. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on Tesla from $425.00 to $355.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $410.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a report on Friday, June 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Tesla from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Baird R W downgraded Tesla from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $302.75.

Tesla Trading Up 4.2%

Shares of TSLA stock traded up $13.17 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $329.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 67,322,329 shares, compared to its average volume of 108,157,156. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $324.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $313.53. Tesla, Inc. has a 52 week low of $182.00 and a 52 week high of $488.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.04. The company has a market cap of $1.06 trillion, a PE ratio of 190.31, a P/E/G ratio of 9.93 and a beta of 2.39.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last issued 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Tesla

In related news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $600,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 5,924 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,777,200. The trade was a 25.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ira Matthew Ehrenpreis sold 477,572 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 855,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at $305,632,276.20. The trade was a 35.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 835,509 shares of company stock valued at $279,420,485. 20.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Tesla 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.