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

Key Points

• Wedbush has reaffirmed its "outperform" rating for Tesla (TSLA) with a target price of $500.00, indicating a potential upside of 65.22% from the stock's previous close.
• Research firms have varied opinions on Tesla, with Barclays lowering its target from $325 to $275, while others like Mizuho maintain an "outperform" rating with a target of $375.00.
• Tesla reported quarterly earnings of $0.40 per share, below analysts’ estimate of $0.43, with overall revenue down 11.8% year-over-year.

Wedbush restated their outperform rating on shares of Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Free Report) in a research note released on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $500.00 price target on the electric vehicle producer's stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on TSLA. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. UBS Group set a $290.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Tesla from $305.00 to $341.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Tesla and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $410.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $303.31.

Tesla Price Performance

Shares of TSLA traded down $1.05 on Monday, reaching $318.86. The stock had a trading volume of 38,085,024 shares, compared to its average volume of 106,705,305. Tesla has a twelve month low of $192.04 and a twelve month high of $488.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $319.80 and a 200 day moving average of $309.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.03 trillion, a PE ratio of 184.73, a PEG ratio of 10.85 and a beta of 2.33.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 7.98% and a net margin of 6.54%. The firm had revenue of $22.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Tesla will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $341.02, for a total transaction of $2,046,120.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 1,950 shares in the company, valued at $664,989. The trade was a 75.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Xiaotong Zhu sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.81, for a total transaction of $4,857,150.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 67,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,889,556. This represents a 18.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 606,724 shares of company stock valued at $215,376,831 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 20.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Tesla by 86.3% in the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 95 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. First PREMIER Bank lifted its holdings in Tesla by 79.2% in the 1st quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 95 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Newton One Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 250.0% during the 1st quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 105 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI purchased a new position in Tesla in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in Tesla by 79.5% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 70 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. 66.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.