Bank of America Upgrades Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) to “Buy”

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) was upgraded by equities researchers at Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $220.00 price target on the electric vehicle producer’s stock. Bank of America‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 29.27% from the company’s previous close.

TSLA has been the topic of a number of other reports. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on shares of Tesla from $267.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Tesla in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. They set a “sell” rating and a $170.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $122.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a research report on Tuesday. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Tesla from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $245.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $280.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $186.70.

Tesla Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ TSLA opened at $170.18 on Wednesday. Tesla has a fifty-two week low of $138.80 and a fifty-two week high of $299.29. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $175.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $208.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a market cap of $541.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 2.39.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 14.37% and a return on equity of 13.68%. The company had revenue of $25.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.07 earnings per share. Tesla’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Tesla will post 1.97 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Tesla

In other Tesla news, SVP Andrew D. Baglino sold 10,500 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.17, for a total transaction of $2,143,785.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,376,229.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Andrew D. Baglino sold 10,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.17, for a total value 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 approximately $6,376,229.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 93,706 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.73, for a total value of $18,247,369.38. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,920,950. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 209,098 shares of company stock valued at $38,802,534 in the last 90 days. 25.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wyrmwood Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Tesla in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Lam Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Tesla in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Tesla by 202.2% in the 4th quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 136 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Ogorek Anthony Joseph NY ADV lifted its holdings in Tesla by 94.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ogorek Anthony Joseph NY ADV now owns 142 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A acquired a new stake in Tesla in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. 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.