Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Downgraded to Strong Sell Rating by Phillip Securities

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) was downgraded by research analysts at Phillip Securities from a “moderate sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on TSLA. Glj Research reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $24.86 price target on shares of Tesla in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. New Street Research cut Tesla from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Tesla from $265.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Argus restated a “buy” rating and set a $286.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Tesla from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $228.24.

Tesla Stock Down 5.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:TSLA opened at $311.18 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The business’s 50 day moving average is $248.48 and its 200 day moving average is $218.94. The stock has a market cap of $998.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 85.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.73 and a beta of 2.29. Tesla has a 52-week low of $138.80 and a 52-week high of $358.64.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.14. Tesla had a return on equity of 10.24% and a net margin of 13.07%. The firm had revenue of $25.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.53 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Tesla will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.02, for a total transaction of $34,602,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,868,508. This represents a 94.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 4,000 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $1,400,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 105,032 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,761,200. This represents a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 188,797 shares of company stock valued at $57,616,781. Corporate insiders own 20.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Connable Office Inc. lifted its position in shares of Tesla by 0.3% in the third quarter. Connable Office Inc. now owns 12,872 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $3,368,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Holistic Financial Partners lifted its holdings in Tesla by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Holistic Financial Partners now owns 4,055 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $1,061,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Integris Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Tesla by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Integris Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,065 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $804,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Sherrill & Hutchins Financial Advisory Inc raised its position in shares of Tesla by 1.4% in the third quarter. Sherrill & Hutchins Financial Advisory Inc now owns 3,058 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $800,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Altman Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Tesla by 0.4% in the third quarter. Altman Advisors Inc. now owns 10,754 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $2,814,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.