Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Upgraded to Buy at Bank of America

Bank of America upgraded shares of Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $220.00 target price on the electric vehicle producer’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on TSLA. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Tesla from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Wedbush reissued an outperform rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Tesla in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. They issued a sell rating and a $170.00 target price on the stock. KGI Securities reaffirmed a neutral rating and issued a $213.00 target price (down from $309.00) on shares of Tesla in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, HSBC cut their target price on Tesla from $143.00 to $138.00 and set a reduce rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $186.22.

Tesla Trading Up 12.1 %

Shares of Tesla stock opened at $162.13 on Wednesday. Tesla has a fifty-two week low of $138.80 and a fifty-two week high of $299.29. The firm has a market cap of $516.35 billion, a PE ratio of 41.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 2.39. The business’s fifty day moving average is $176.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $208.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.03). Tesla had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 14.37%. The business had revenue of $25.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.07 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Tesla will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 93,706 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.73, for a total transaction of $18,247,369.38. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,920,950. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Xiaotong Zhu sold 687 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.11, for a total transaction of $121,674.57. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 63,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,188,215.81. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 93,706 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.73, for a total transaction of $18,247,369.38. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,920,950. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 209,098 shares of company stock worth $38,802,534 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 25.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tesla

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of TSLA. Wyrmwood Management LLC bought a new position in Tesla in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Lam Group Inc. bought a new position in Tesla in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Tesla by 202.2% in the fourth quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 136 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Ogorek Anthony Joseph NY ADV lifted its holdings in Tesla by 94.5% in the third quarter. Ogorek Anthony Joseph NY ADV now owns 142 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A bought a new position in Tesla in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. 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.