Jefferies Financial Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Stock

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group raised its price target on Tesla to $350 but kept a hold rating, which implies roughly an 11.5% downside from the stock's current price.
• Analyst consensus remains mixed with an average target of $397.26 (19 Buys, 15 Holds, 9 Sells); Tesla trades near $395.52 with a market cap around $1.48 trillion and a high P/E of about 366.
• Company insiders have been net sellers recently: the CFO and a director disclosed sizable sales and insiders sold 53,804 shares (~$20.9M) in the last 90 days, leaving insiders with roughly 19.9% ownership.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $300.00 to $350.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday. The firm currently has a "hold" rating on the electric vehicle producer's stock. Jefferies Financial Group's price objective would suggest a potential downside of 11.51% from the stock's current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. New Street Research upped their target price on shares of Tesla from $520.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $510.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on shares of Tesla from $313.00 to $280.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. TD Cowen cut their target price on Tesla from $519.00 to $490.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $415.00 target price on Tesla and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and nine have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $397.26.

Tesla Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of TSLA traded down $5.10 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $395.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,237,413 shares, compared to its average volume of 62,588,586. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 1.77. Tesla has a 12-month low of $222.79 and a 12-month high of $498.83. The stock has a market cap of $1.48 trillion, a PE ratio of 366.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.67 and a beta of 1.91. The company's 50 day moving average is $389.71 and its 200 day moving average is $422.47.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $24.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $24.75 billion. Tesla had a return on equity of 4.86% and a net margin of 4.00%.The firm's revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.73 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Tesla will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,264 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.03, for a total value of $898,875.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,106 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,188,625.18. This represents a 11.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 25,809 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $359.33, for a total value of $9,273,947.97. Following the sale, the director directly owned 33,860 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,166,913.80. The trade was a 43.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 53,804 shares of company stock worth $20,865,598. 19.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tesla

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 87,929 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $35,509,000 after buying an additional 9,293 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Tesla by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,317 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $2,147,000 after acquiring an additional 931 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC raised its position in Tesla by 52.2% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 10,368 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $4,187,000 after acquiring an additional 3,558 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Tesla by 9.1% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 12,135 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $3,855,000 after acquiring an additional 1,011 shares during the period. Finally, AGP Franklin LLC boosted its position in shares of Tesla by 21.2% during the 2nd quarter. AGP Franklin LLC now owns 4,861 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $1,544,000 after purchasing an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.20% of the company's stock.

Key Tesla News

Here are the key news stories impacting Tesla this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Tesla expands its robotaxi footprint to Dallas and Houston, a visible commercialization step for its autonomous ride service that supports future revenue diversification beyond car sales. Tesla rolls out robotaxis in Dallas and Houston
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and outlets note Tesla’s energy storage and solar division is poised to offset falling car margins and shrinking regulatory credit revenue — a potential near-term cushion for revenue and margins. Tesla's energy storage division to pick up slack
• Positive Sentiment: Real-world supervised self-driving trials in Amsterdam highlight product progress and incremental adoption of FSD features in complex urban environments — bullish for the autonomy narrative if deployments scale safely. Inside one of Amsterdam's first supervised self-driving Teslas
• Positive Sentiment: Broader EV adoption in Europe in Q1 is supportive for Tesla’s addressable market and sales opportunity in key regions. A Good Sign for Tesla Stock: European Car Buyers Pile into EVs in Q1
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings risk is front-and-center: multiple previews warn Q1 results and the conference call (April 22) could drive large share swings as investors seek clarity on deliveries, margins, capex and robotaxi/Optimus progress. Tesla Reports Earnings Wednesday
• Neutral Sentiment: Some Wall Street shops have trimmed price targets and ratings — UBS moved from Sell to Hold and RBC nudged targets lower — reflecting lower near-term expectations while still valuing long-term optionality. Wall Street firm drops shocking verdict ahead of Tesla earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Persistent hardware and FSD safety critiques (including claims HW3 cars are “legally blind” under California DMV definitions) raise regulatory and adoption risks for autonomy — a direct headwind to the robotaxi revenue case. Tesla's HW3-equipped cars 'legally blind' in California
• Negative Sentiment: Broader backlash over outdated vehicle hardware and legal scrutiny could pressure demand and lead to incremental costs for retrofits, recalls or litigation. Car Owners Are Revolting Over Tesla's Self-Driving Promises
• Negative Sentiment: Investigations and reporting on offshore tax arrangements and persistent delivery misses/capex growth feed negative sentiment and could amplify downside if results or guidance disappoint. Musk scorned 'shady' loopholes, yet offshore tax tricks likely saved Tesla

About Tesla

Tesla, Inc NASDAQ: TSLA is an American company that designs, manufactures and sells electric vehicles, energy generation and energy storage products. Founded in 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, Tesla grew into a vertically integrated mobility and clean‑energy company with Elon Musk serving as its chief executive officer. The company's stated mission is to accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy, reflected in its combined focus on electric drivetrains, battery technology, renewable energy products and software.

Tesla's automotive business includes a lineup of battery‑electric vehicles and related services.

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