Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Coverage Initiated at Benchmark

Stock analysts at Benchmark began coverage on shares of Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) in a research note issued on Wednesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $475.00 price target on the electric vehicle producer’s stock. Benchmark’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 44.60% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Glj Research reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $24.86 price objective on shares of Tesla in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Roth Mkm upgraded Tesla from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $380.00 in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Tesla from $195.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Tesla from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Bank of America lowered Tesla from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $400.00 to $490.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $326.50.

Tesla Stock Down 6.3 %

Tesla stock opened at $328.50 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market cap of $1.06 trillion, a P/E ratio of 161.03, a P/E/G ratio of 6.22 and a beta of 2.34. The business has a fifty day moving average of $408.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $305.46. Tesla has a twelve month low of $138.80 and a twelve month high of $488.54.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.08). Tesla had a net margin of 7.26% and a return on equity of 10.31%. On average, analysts forecast that Tesla will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 112,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.06, for a total transaction of $39,792,803.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 85,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,095,100. This represents a 56.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.43, for a total value of $2,481,010.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 105,032 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,226,491.76. This represents a 6.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 635,776 shares of company stock worth $231,335,112. Insiders own 20.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Tesla

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. lifted its holdings in Tesla by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 29,979 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $12,107,000 after acquiring an additional 2,217 shares during the last quarter. Morey & Quinn Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Tesla in the 4th quarter valued at $1,232,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Tesla during the 4th quarter worth $3,958,000. BG Investment Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Tesla during the 4th quarter worth about $775,000. Finally, Wambolt & Associates LLC lifted its position in Tesla by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Wambolt & Associates LLC now owns 2,772 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $1,119,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. 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.