Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Trading Down 1.3% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) dropped 1.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on the stock from $185.00 to $165.00. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a hold rating on the stock. Tesla traded as low as $168.51 and last traded at $169.50. Approximately 32,257,964 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 101,899,641 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.76.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Tesla from $320.00 to $310.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Edward Jones cut shares of Tesla from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Tesla from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $245.00 to $195.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. China Renaissance began coverage on shares of Tesla in a report on Monday, February 26th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Tesla in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. They issued a "sell" rating and a $170.00 price target on the stock. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Tesla currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $199.59.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 93,705 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.44, for a total value of $16,439,605.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,631,600. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Tesla news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 93,705 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were 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 directly owns 15,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,631,600. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 93,706 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.73, for a total transaction of $18,247,369.38. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,920,950. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 209,098 shares of company stock worth $38,802,534. Corporate insiders own 20.90% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tesla

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

Tesla Trading Up 1.7 %

The firm has a market cap of $556.06 billion, a PE ratio of 40.51, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 2.39. 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 stock's fifty day simple moving average is $182.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $215.21.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.03). Tesla had a net margin of 15.50% and a return on equity of 16.62%. The firm had revenue of $25.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $25.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.07 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.27 EPS for the current fiscal 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.