Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Now Covered by Analysts at Melius

Key Points

• Analysts at Melius have initiated coverage on Tesla with a "buy" rating and a price target of $520.00, suggesting a potential upside of 25.76% from its previous close.
• Several firms have recently adjusted their price targets for Tesla, with Mizuho setting a target of $450.00 and TD Cowen raising theirs to $509.00, while overall consensus rating stands at "Hold."
• Tesla's recent earnings report revealed a quarterly EPS of $0.40, missing analysts' expectations, and a year-over-year revenue decline of 11.8% to $22.50 billion.

Research analysts at Melius assumed coverage on shares of Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage set a "buy" rating and a $520.00 price target on the electric vehicle producer's stock. Melius' price target would indicate a potential upside of 25.76% from the company's previous close.

TSLA has been the topic of several other research reports. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Tesla from $375.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Tesla from $374.00 to $509.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Tesla from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $320.00 to $548.00 in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Tesla from $325.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, CICC Research upped their price target on shares of Tesla from $360.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and eight have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $364.83.

Tesla Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ TSLA opened at $413.49 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Tesla has a fifty-two week low of $212.11 and a fifty-two week high of $488.54. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $375.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $328.28. The firm has a market cap of $1.37 trillion, a PE ratio of 239.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 14.92 and a beta of 2.08.

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 company had revenue of $22.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Tesla will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Xiaotong Zhu sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $363.75, for a total value of $7,275,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 47,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,314,500. This trade represents a 29.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,606 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $352.38, for a total transaction of $918,302.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 9,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,473,057.28. This represents a 20.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 202,606 shares of company stock valued at $75,588,902. Company insiders own 19.90% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tesla

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TSLA. Means Investment CO. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Tesla by 37.7% in the first quarter. Means Investment CO. Inc. now owns 23,089 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $5,984,000 after acquiring an additional 6,323 shares during the last quarter. Siren L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Tesla in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,332,000. Zuckerman Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in Tesla by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Zuckerman Investment Group LLC now owns 12,748 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $3,304,000 after buying an additional 826 shares in the last quarter. Keystone Global Partners LLC bought a new position in Tesla in the 1st quarter valued at $594,000. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Tesla in the 1st quarter valued at $205,495,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.20% of the company's stock.

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.

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