Tesla's (TSLA) "Neutral" Rating Reiterated at Jefferies Financial Group

Key Points

• Jefferies reissued its "Neutral" rating on Tesla (TSLA); the 41‑analyst consensus is a "Hold" with an average target price of $396.29 (18 Buy / 14 Hold / 9 Sell).
• Tesla beat Q1 EPS estimates ($0.41 vs. $0.39) and reported positive free cash flow, but revenue of $22.39B missed estimates and the stock was pressured (shares down ~3.5%).
• Management warned 2026 capex will surge to $20–25B+ for AI, chips and robotics—pushing expected negative cash flow for the rest of 2026—and insiders sold roughly $20.9M of stock last quarter, which further weighed on investor sentiment.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "neutral" rating reissued by equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $508.00 price objective on Tesla in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of Tesla from $420.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Tesla from $438.00 to $400.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Tesla from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and nine have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $396.29.

Tesla Stock Down 3.5%

Shares of TSLA stock opened at $374.01 on Wednesday. Tesla has a one year low of $249.20 and a one year high of $498.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $387.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $421.62. The stock has a market cap of $1.40 trillion, a P/E ratio of 346.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.22 and a beta of 1.91.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $22.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.96 billion. Tesla had a net margin of 4.00% and a return on equity of 4.86%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.27 EPS. Analysts predict that Tesla will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Tesla

In other Tesla news, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 25,809 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $359.33, for a total transaction of $9,273,947.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 33,860 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,166,913.80. This represents a 43.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,264 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.03, for a total transaction of $898,875.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 18,106 shares in the company, valued at $7,188,625.18. This trade represents a 11.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 53,804 shares of company stock valued at $20,865,598. 19.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Asset Allocation Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Tesla by 24.8% during the first quarter. Asset Allocation Strategies LLC now owns 891 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $331,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. TRU Independence Asset Management 2 LLC grew its stake in Tesla by 118.8% in the first quarter. TRU Independence Asset Management 2 LLC now owns 978 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $364,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its position in shares of Tesla by 36.4% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 749 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Tesla by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 92,722 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $34,470,000 after purchasing an additional 2,077 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Formidable Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Tesla by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 19,559 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $7,271,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. 66.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Tesla News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Tesla this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 profit beat and cash surprise — Adjusted EPS beat estimates ($0.41) and Tesla reported positive free cash flow for the quarter, giving near‑term earnings credibility. Business Wire: Q1 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Software & services traction — Full Self‑Driving (supervised) subscriptions and “services & other” revenue showed meaningful growth, supporting higher‑margin recurring revenue potential. TechCrunch: FSD subscription growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Robotaxi & Optimus progress — Tesla expanded robotaxi service and reiterated Optimus timelines (v3 unveiling mid‑summer). These are long‑dated optionality items that can justify valuation but remain uncertain in near term. Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Stable crypto position — Tesla retained ~ $895M in Bitcoin on its balance sheet, limiting a forced-sale risk but leaving exposure to crypto mark‑to‑market swings. Yahoo: Bitcoin holdings
• Negative Sentiment: Massive capex raise ($20–25B+) — Musk told investors 2026 capex will jump into the $20B+–$25B range for AI, chips, Terafab and robotics; management expects cash flow to turn negative for the rest of 2026. That guidance spooked investors and is the primary reason shares reversed gains. Reuters: $25B spending plan
• Negative Sentiment: Hardware & upgrade disclosures — Management acknowledged cars with HW3 won’t support fully unsupervised FSD without upgrades, implying additional costs and slower monetization of autonomy for existing owners. Benzinga: HW3 limitation
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue vs. deliveries mix and inventory — Q1 revenue slightly missed some estimates and deliveries lagged expectations, leaving concerns about demand momentum and inventory build‑up. Reuters: revenue miss

Tesla Company Profile

Tesla, Inc NASDAQ: TSLA is an American company that designs, manufactures and sells electric vehicles, energy generation and energy storage products. Founded in 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, Tesla grew into a vertically integrated mobility and clean‑energy company with Elon Musk serving as its chief executive officer. The company's stated mission is to accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy, reflected in its combined focus on electric drivetrains, battery technology, renewable energy products and software.

Tesla's automotive business includes a lineup of battery‑electric vehicles and related services.

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