Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) experienced a notable decline in its stock price prior to trading on Tuesday. This was triggered by the Royal Bank of Canada, which revised its price target on the stock downward from $440.00 to $320.00. The shares closed at $238.01 on the previous trading day but opened at $228.16, indicating a gap down at market opening. The most recent trading price for Tesla shares was $223.96, and the company saw a trading volume of 20,064,175 shares.

In addition to the downgrade by Royal Bank of Canada, other analysts have shared their assessments of Tesla. The Goldman Sachs Group communicated a "cautious" rating for the stock in a report dated March 3rd. Also, Robert W. Baird adjusted their price target from $440.00 to $370.00 on March 6th, maintaining an "outperform" rating. Meanwhile, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target to $474.00 while keeping a "buy" rating. Canaccord Genuity reiterated a "buy" rating and set a price target of $404.00. Conversely, Guggenheim reduced their price target to $170.00 and issued a "sell" rating. In total, the ratings from analysts include nine sell ratings, ten hold ratings, nineteen buy ratings, and two strong buy ratings. According to MarketBeat.com, Tesla holds a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average target price of $319.25.

Insider Transactions at Tesla

In recent insider trading news, Tesla's CFO, Vaibhav Taneja, sold 7,000 shares on January 6th for an average price of $413.56, resulting in a total transaction value of approximately $2.89 million. Post-transaction, Taneja possesses 108,965 shares worth about $45.06 million, marking a 6.04% reduction in shares held. Furthermore, Director James R. Murdoch sold 54,776 shares on March 10th at an average price of $240.79, generating a total of roughly $13.19 million. After this transaction, Murdoch retains 477,011 shares valued at nearly $114.86 million, which is a 10.30% decrease in his holding. Over the last quarter, insiders have divested themselves of 477,228 shares valued at approximately $166.85 million, indicating that about 20.70% of the stock is held by insiders.

Institutional Ownership of Tesla

Hedge funds have been actively adjusting their positions in Tesla. For instance, True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings by 79.5% in the fourth quarter, now owning 70 shares worth $28,000 after acquiring 31 additional shares. Horrell Capital Management Inc. raised its stake by 75.6%, putting their total at 79 shares worth $32,000 following an acquisition of 34 shares. GS Investments Inc. significantly increased their position by 193.3%, owning now 88 shares valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 58 shares. Additionally, Navigoe LLC and CoreFirst Bank & Trust made new stakes worth approximately $37,000 and $38,000, respectively. Overall, 66.20% of Tesla's stock is currently held by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Tesla Stock Overview

Tesla maintains a 50-day simple moving average of $347.85 and a 200-day average of $320.53. The company displays a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.02, and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. With a market capitalization of $720.38 billion, Tesla reports a PE ratio of 109.79 and a PEG ratio of 5.86. Recently, Tesla announced its quarterly earnings on January 29th, reporting an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.66, which fell short of analysts' expectations of $0.74 by $0.08. The net margin stood at 7.26%, and the return on equity was recorded at 10.31%. Analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will achieve an EPS of 2.56 for the current fiscal year.

Tesla Company Background

Tesla, Inc. focuses on the design, development, manufacturing, leasing, and sale of electric vehicles and energy generation and storage solutions both domestically and internationally. The company operates in two key segments: Automotive, which includes electric vehicles and automotive regulatory credits, and Energy Generation and Storage.

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