Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Key Points

• Tesla reported a quarterly EPS of $0.37, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.11, while maintaining a return on equity of 7.98% and a net margin of 6.54%.
• The stock declined 0.8% during midday trading, reaching $438.97, with a market capitalization of $1.46 trillion.
• Research analysts have mixed opinions on Tesla's stock, rating it with 2 Strong Buys, 21 Buys, 12 Holds, and 10 Sells, with an average target price of $363.54.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.11), Zacks reports. Tesla had a return on equity of 7.98% and a net margin of 6.54%.

Tesla Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ TSLA traded down $3.63 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $438.97. 77,673,236 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 101,637,773. Tesla has a 52-week low of $212.11 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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.46 trillion, a PE ratio of 253.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 16.08 and a beta of 2.08. The business's fifty day moving average price is $391.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $336.26.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TSLA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $355.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Tesla from $325.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. UBS Group set a $247.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a research note on Monday, October 6th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Tesla from $374.00 to $509.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $483.00 price target on shares of Tesla and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and ten have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Tesla presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $363.54.

Insider Activity at Tesla

In other news, Director James R. Murdoch sold 120,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.29, for a total value of $42,034,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 697,031 shares in the company, valued at $244,162,988.99. This represents a 14.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Xiaotong Zhu sold 20,000 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $363.75, for a total transaction of $7,275,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 47,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,314,500. The trade was a 29.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 202,606 shares of company stock worth $75,588,902 in the last 90 days. 19.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Viking Global Investors LP lifted its position in Tesla by 214.3% in the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 1,100,331 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $349,531,000 after purchasing an additional 750,247 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Tesla by 21.1% during the second quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 3,982,725 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $1,265,152,000 after purchasing an additional 694,560 shares during the last quarter. Thiel Macro LLC raised its stake in shares of Tesla by 376.8% in the second quarter. Thiel Macro LLC now owns 272,613 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $86,598,000 after acquiring an additional 215,433 shares during the last quarter. LM Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Tesla by 1,813.5% during the 2nd quarter. LM Advisors LLC now owns 215,251 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $68,377,000 after buying an additional 204,002 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atreides Management LP increased its position in Tesla by 64.6% in the second quarter. Atreides Management LP now owns 321,897 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $102,254,000 after purchasing an additional 126,355 shares during the period. 66.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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