Guggenheim Raises Tesla's Price Target Despite 'Sell' Rating

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) has seen its price target raised by Guggenheim from $156.00 to $175.00, according to a research report released on Thursday. Despite this increase, Guggenheim maintains a "sell" rating on the electric vehicle manufacturer's stock. This new price target suggests a possible downside of approximately 51.35% based on Tesla's current stock price.

Analyst Opinions on Tesla

Multiple analysts have expressed varied opinions on Tesla's stock recently. On Monday, November 18th, Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a price target of $400.00. On the other hand, Glj Research reiterated a "sell" rating with a lower target of $24.86, while Barclays increased their price target from $220.00 to $235.00, assigning an "equal weight" rating. Additionally, Oppenheimer maintained a "market perform" rating, and Needham & Company reaffirmed a "hold" rating. In total, there are nine analysts with a "sell" rating, sixteen providing a "hold" rating, fifteen issuing a "buy" rating, and one analyst giving a "strong buy" rating to Tesla. MarketBeat.com indicates an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $245.84 for the stock.

Tesla's Recent Stock Performance

On Thursday, Tesla's shares opened at $359.71, showing a slight increase of 0.5%. The company's 50-day and 200-day moving averages are $280.65 and $235.96, respectively. Tesla's market capitalization stands at $1.15 trillion with a P/E ratio of 98.55. The stock has ranged from a 1-year low of $138.80 to a high of $361.93.

Latest Earnings Report

Tesla recently reported its quarterly earnings on October 23rd, posting an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.72, which surpassed analysts' expectations of $0.58 by $0.14. The company noted a return on equity of 10.24% and a net margin of 13.07%. Revenue for the reported quarter reached $25.18 billion, slightly below the consensus estimate of $25.47 billion, but reflecting a year-over-year increase of 7.8% from the previous year.

Insider Selling Activity

In related news, Tesla's CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 7,000 shares on December 2nd, at an average price of $354.43, totaling approximately $2.48 million. Post-sale, he holds 105,032 shares valued at about $37.23 million. Additionally, Senior VP Xiaotong Zhu sold 297 shares on September 6th at an average price of $221.77. Across the last quarter, insiders disposed of over 420,000 shares worth approximately $135.23 million, with insiders currently owning 20.70% of the company.

Institutional Ownership and Recent Trading Activity

A variety of hedge funds have made notable transactions with Tesla shares. For instance, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake by over 35,000% in the last quarter. Other funds such as Clean Energy Transition LLP and Strategic Financial Concepts LLC have also significantly increased their holdings. Currently, institutional investors hold about 66.20% of Tesla's stock.

About Tesla

Tesla, Inc. is involved in designing, manufacturing, leasing, and selling electric vehicles, alongside energy generation and storage systems, both in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two main segments: Automotive and Energy Generation and Storage.

Tesla, Stock, Analysts