Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Down 2.2% After Analyst Downgrade

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 2.2% during mid-day trading on Friday after Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on the stock from $218.00 to $200.00. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft currently has a buy rating on the stock. Tesla traded as low as $175.30 and last traded at $175.79. 77,654,838 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 19% from the average session volume of 95,391,528 shares. The stock had previously closed at $179.83.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on TSLA. Wedbush lowered their price objective on Tesla from $315.00 to $300.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $298.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Tesla from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Tesla from $225.00 to $185.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Tesla has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $204.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 93,705 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.44, for a total value of $16,439,605.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,631,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Tesla news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 93,705 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.44, for a total transaction of $16,439,605.20. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 15,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,631,600. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Andrew D. Baglino sold 10,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.17, for a total value of $2,143,785.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,230 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,376,229.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 198,598 shares of company stock valued at $36,952,434 over the last ninety days. 25.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Tesla in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Wyrmwood Management LLC purchased a new stake in Tesla during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Lam Group Inc. purchased a new position in Tesla in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Alpha Paradigm Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Tesla during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Halpern Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Tesla by 1,111.1% during the 3rd quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. now owns 109 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 66.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Tesla Stock Performance

The business's fifty day moving average is $187.05 and its 200-day moving average is $221.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a market cap of $559.85 billion, a PE ratio of 40.79, a P/E/G ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 2.41.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.03). Tesla had a net margin of 15.50% and a return on equity of 16.62%. The company had revenue of $25.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.07 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.