Benchmark Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Stock Price

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) had its price objective reduced by stock analysts at Benchmark from $475.00 to $350.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the electric vehicle producer’s stock. Benchmark’s target price suggests a potential upside of 38.67% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Tesla from $474.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Monday, February 10th. New Street Research upgraded Tesla from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $460.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Cowen raised Tesla from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $298.59.

Tesla Trading Down 7.3 %

Shares of TSLA opened at $252.40 on Wednesday. Tesla has a fifty-two week low of $138.80 and a fifty-two week high of $488.54. The company has a market capitalization of $811.85 billion, a PE ratio of 123.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $287.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $323.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.02.

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

Insider Transactions at Tesla

In related news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 4,000 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $1,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 26,950 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,737,500. This trade represents a 12.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director James R. Murdoch sold 54,776 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now owns 477,011 shares in the company, valued at $114,859,478.69. The trade was a 10.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 374,228 shares of company stock valued at $123,791,123. Insiders own 20.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Tesla

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TSLA. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in Tesla by 79.5% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 70 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Horrell Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Tesla by 75.6% during 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 during the last quarter. GS Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 193.3% in the 4th quarter. GS Investments Inc. now owns 88 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in Tesla during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new position in Tesla during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors own 66.20% of the company’s stock.

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.