Mizuho Has Lowered Expectations for Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Stock Price

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) had its price target dropped by Mizuho from $515.00 to $430.00 in a research report issued on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the electric vehicle producer’s stock. Mizuho’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 90.85% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of Tesla in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $475.00 target price on the stock. Glj Research reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Roth Mkm upgraded shares of Tesla from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $380.00 in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Roth Capital upgraded shares of Tesla from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Tesla from $195.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $319.25.

Tesla Stock Performance

Tesla stock opened at $225.31 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $724.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 110.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.50. The company’s 50-day moving average is $344.47 and its 200 day moving average is $320.61. Tesla has a 1-year low of $138.80 and a 1-year high of $488.54.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.08). Tesla had a return on equity of 10.31% and a net margin of 7.26%. Research analysts forecast that Tesla will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.63, for a total transaction of $41,163,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,222,802. This trade represents a 94.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director James R. Murdoch sold 54,776 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 477,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,859,478.69. This represents a 10.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 477,228 shares of company stock valued at $166,849,043 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 20.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Tesla

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in 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 buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Horrell Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Tesla by 75.6% in the fourth quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. GS Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Tesla by 193.3% in the fourth quarter. GS Investments Inc. now owns 88 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Navigoe LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Tesla in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Tesla in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.