Vest Financial LLC Raises Position in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)

Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) by 73.5% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 20,934 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock after buying an additional 8,868 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Tesla were worth $5,425,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in shares of Tesla by 79.5% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 70 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. GS Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Tesla by 193.3% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in shares of Tesla during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Tesla during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Tesla Stock Up 3.7%

TSLA stock opened at $295.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.61. Tesla, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $167.41 and a fifty-two week high of $488.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $950.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 144.68, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.47. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $292.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $333.62.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.26). The business had revenue of $19.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.93 billion. Tesla had a return on equity of 10.31% and a net margin of 7.26%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Tesla news, Director James R. Murdoch sold 54,776 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.79, for a total transaction of $13,189,513.04. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 477,011 shares in the company, valued at $114,859,478.69. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph Gebbia purchased 4,000 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $256.31 per share, for a total transaction of $1,025,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,053,690.41. The trade was a 3,603.60% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 870,721 shares of company stock worth $286,248,728 in the last ninety days. 20.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. HSBC dropped their target price on shares of Tesla from $165.00 to $130.00 and set a “reduce” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Wedbush set a $500.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $450.00 target price on shares of Tesla and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $294.27.

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.