Tesla's (TSLA) "Outperform" Rating Reiterated at Wedbush

Key Points

• Wedbush analysts have reiterated an "outperform" rating for Tesla (TSLA), setting a price target of $500.00, which suggests a potential upside of 26.28% from its previous close.
• Tesla's latest quarterly earnings report revealed $0.40 earnings per share, missing estimates, with revenue down 11.8% year-over-year at $22.50 billion.
• Currently, Tesla stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average price target of $303.00, while various brokerages have issued diverse ratings ranging from "Buy" to "Sell".

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating reissued by analysts at Wedbush in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $500.00 price target on the electric vehicle producer's stock. Wedbush's price objective indicates a potential upside of 26.28% from the company's previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on TSLA. China Renaissance reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $349.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $410.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a research note on Friday, September 5th. HSBC reaffirmed a "reduce" rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. William Blair reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "sell" rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and nine have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $303.00.

Tesla Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ TSLA opened at $395.94 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.28 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 228.87, a P/E/G ratio of 13.81 and a beta of 2.06. 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 1-year low of $212.11 and a 1-year high of $488.54. The stock's 50-day moving average is $328.89 and its 200 day moving average is $303.72.

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

Insider Transactions at Tesla

In other news, Director James R. Murdoch sold 120,000 shares of the business'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 transaction, the director owned 697,031 shares in the company, valued at $244,162,988.99. The trade was a 14.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.89, for a total value of $1,171,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 5,924 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,735,080.36. This represents a 40.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 148,606 shares of company stock worth $51,999,662 over the last quarter. 20.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Tesla

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased 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 during the last quarter. First PREMIER Bank increased its position in Tesla by 79.2% in the first quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 95 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Chapman Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Tesla in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Newton One Investments LLC increased its position in Tesla by 250.0% in the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 105 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI purchased a new stake in Tesla in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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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