Vertex Planning Partners LLC Invests $347,000 in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)

Vertex Planning Partners LLC bought a new position in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 859 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock, valued at approximately $347,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Horrell Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 75.6% in the fourth quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. GS Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Tesla by 193.3% during the 4th quarter. GS Investments Inc. now owns 88 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Tesla in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new stake in Tesla during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA bought a new position in Tesla in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Tesla

In other news, Director James R. Murdoch sold 54,776 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.79, for a total value of $13,189,513.04. Following the transaction, the director now owns 477,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,859,478.69. This trade represents a 10.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.63, for a total value of $41,163,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,222,802. This trade represents a 94.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 477,228 shares of company stock worth $166,849,043. 20.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Benchmark started coverage on shares of Tesla in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $475.00 price target for the company. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Tesla from $259.00 to $225.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Tesla from $295.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Cowen upgraded shares of Tesla from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, HSBC lowered their price target on Tesla from $165.00 to $130.00 and set a “reduce” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Tesla has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $319.12.

Tesla Price Performance

NASDAQ TSLA opened at $273.13 on Friday. Tesla, Inc. has a 1 year low of $138.80 and a 1 year high of $488.54. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $324.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $321.35. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a market cap of $878.53 billion, a PE ratio of 133.89, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.50.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.08). Tesla had a return on equity of 10.31% and a net margin of 7.26%. On average, analysts predict that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

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.