Needham & Company LLC Reaffirms Hold Rating for Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA)

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reaffirmed by research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $280.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Tesla from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Tesla from $225.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Edward Jones lowered shares of Tesla from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Tesla from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $190.30.

Tesla Stock Performance

NASDAQ TSLA opened at $144.68 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $176.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $209.24. 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 has a 12-month low of $138.80 and a 12-month high of $299.29. The firm has a market cap of $460.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.57, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 2.39.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.03). Tesla had a net margin of 15.50% and a return on equity of 16.62%. The business had revenue of $25.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.07 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Tesla will post 1.97 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Tesla

In related news, SVP Andrew D. Baglino sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.17, for a total transaction of $2,143,785.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 31,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,376,229.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Andrew D. Baglino sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.17, for a total value of $2,143,785.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 31,230 shares in the company, valued at $6,376,229.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Xiaotong Zhu sold 687 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.11, for a total transaction of $121,674.57. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 63,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,188,215.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 209,098 shares of company stock valued at $38,802,534 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 20.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wyrmwood Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Tesla during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Lam Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Tesla during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Tesla by 202.2% during the 4th quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 136 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Ogorek Anthony Joseph NY ADV lifted its stake in shares of Tesla by 94.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ogorek Anthony Joseph NY ADV now owns 142 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A bought a new stake in Tesla in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.20% of the company’s stock.

About Tesla

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.