Robert W. Baird Lowers Tesla's Price Target to $440

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) saw its price target revised by Robert W. Baird, decreasing it from $480.00 to $440.00 in a recent research report. Despite this downgrade in target price, Baird maintains an "outperform" rating on the company’s stock, indicating that they still believe Tesla's shares will perform better than the broader market.

Reactions from Analysts

Other analysts have also recently updated their positions on Tesla stock. Roth Mkm upgraded Tesla from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a new price target at $380.00, a significant increase from their previous target of $85.00. Canaccord Genuity Group also raised their target for Tesla from $298.00 to $400.00 with a "buy" rating.

On the contrary, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a price target of $120.00 on Tesla shares. Meanwhile, Wedbush increased their price target from $515.00 to $550.00, also maintaining an "outperform" rating. Truist Financial upped their target price from $351.00 to $373.00 with a "hold" rating. Overall, the ratings landscape is varied, with eight analysts giving Tesla a sell rating, fourteen a hold, and sixteen a buy. MarketBeat reports that the consensus rating for Tesla is classified as a "Hold" with a consensus price target of $318.31.

Tesla's Market Performance

As of Thursday, NASDAQ:TSLA opened at $400.28. Tesla holds a market capitalization of $1.28 trillion. The stock has recorded a price-to-earnings (PE) ratio of 196.22, along with a price-to-earnings-growth (PEG) ratio of 8.08 and a beta of 2.30, reflecting its volatility compared to the market. Over the past year, Tesla's stock has seen a low of $138.80 and a high of $488.54, indicating significant price fluctuations.

Financial Insights

Tesla's latest quarterly earnings were reported on January 29, where they announced earnings per share (EPS) of $0.66, falling short of analyst expectations of $0.74. The company's net margin was recorded at 7.26%, while its return on equity stood at 10.54%. Analysts forecast that Tesla will achieve an EPS of 2.82 for the current fiscal year.

Insider Trading Activity

In recent insider trading news, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 100,000 shares on January 6 at an average price of $411.63. This transaction amounted to $41,163,000, decreasing her ownership stake by nearly 95%. Additionally, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 7,000 shares, valued at approximately $2.89 million. These trades are significant as they indicate confidence levels among insiders regarding Tesla's future performance.

Institutional Investment Trends

Institutional investors have shown continued interest in Tesla, with hedge funds adjusting their stakes in the company. During the last quarter, various funds acquired positions in Tesla, including Transcendent Capital Group and PayPay Securities Corp, which significantly increased their ownership. Currently, around 66.20% of Tesla's stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds, demonstrating strong institutional confidence.

About Tesla

Tesla, Inc. is known for its design, development, manufacturing, leasing, and sales of electric vehicles and energy generation and storage systems, operating in the United States, China, and other international markets. It operates through two segments: Automotive, which encompasses electric vehicles and various automotive services, and Energy Generation and Storage.

Tesla, Baird, Analysts