Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Price Target Raised to $425.00

Key Points

• The Goldman Sachs Group raised its price target for Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) from $395.00 to $425.00, maintaining a "neutral" rating which implies a potential downside of 3.80% from the current price.
• Despite the upward revision by Goldman Sachs, Tesla's stock has experienced mixed analyst ratings with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $343.43.
• Insider trading has been significant, with key executives selling large amounts of stock; CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 4,000 shares and Director James R. Murdoch sold 120,000 shares recently.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $395.00 to $425.00 in a report released on Friday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the electric vehicle producer's stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's target price would indicate a potential downside of 3.80% from the company's current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on TSLA. China Renaissance reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $349.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Robert W. Baird raised Tesla from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $320.00 to $548.00 in a research note on Friday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Tesla from $115.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Friday. Argus reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "sell" rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and eight have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $343.43.

Tesla Price Performance

Shares of Tesla stock opened at $441.78 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.47 trillion, a PE ratio of 255.42, a PEG ratio of 15.97 and a beta of 2.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $361.74 and a 200 day moving average of $319.98. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Tesla has a 12 month low of $212.11 and a 12 month high of $488.54.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.03). Tesla had a return on equity of 7.98% and a net margin of 6.54%.The firm had revenue of $22.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.18 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Tesla will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.89, for a total transaction of $1,171,560.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 5,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,735,080.36. The trade was a 40.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director James R. Murdoch sold 120,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.29, for a total transaction of $42,034,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 697,031 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $244,162,988.99. This represents a 14.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 208,606 shares of company stock worth $77,360,462 in the last ninety days. 19.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Chapman Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Tesla in the second quarter valued at $26,000. LGT Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Tesla during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Tesla by 86.3% during the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 95 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. First PREMIER Bank lifted its holdings in Tesla by 79.2% in the first quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 95 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Tesla in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.20% of the company's stock.

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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