Optas LLC Raises Stock Position in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)

Optas LLC lifted its position in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) by 50.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,689 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 901 shares during the period. Optas LLC’s holdings in Tesla were worth $532,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Tesla in the fourth quarter valued at about $7,844,757,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Tesla by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 229,806,372 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $57,102,287,000 after purchasing an additional 3,866,361 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its holdings in Tesla by 2,101.1% during the fourth quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,469,190 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $365,064,000 after buying an additional 1,402,443 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Tesla by 12.9% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 9,849,425 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $1,731,430,000 after buying an additional 1,125,329 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. lifted its holdings in Tesla by 60.2% during the first quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 2,854,198 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $501,654,000 after buying an additional 1,072,366 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 66.20% of the company’s stock.

Tesla Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TSLA traded up $9.66 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $220.32. 81,303,680 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 98,612,938. The company has a market cap of $702.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.20, a PEG ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 2.31. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $219.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $192.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.91. Tesla, Inc. has a 1 year low of $138.80 and a 1 year high of $278.98.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $25.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.38 billion. Tesla had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 10.41%. Tesla’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Tesla, Inc. will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 66,364 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.96, for a total transaction of $14,597,425.44. Following the transaction, the director now owns 85,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,696,600. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Tesla news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 66,364 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.96, for a total value of $14,597,425.44. Following the transaction, the director now owns 85,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,696,600. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Xiaotong Zhu sold 650 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.21, for a total transaction of $113,236.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 65,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,350,652.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 25.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TSLA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. New Street Research downgraded shares of Tesla from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. China Renaissance raised shares of Tesla from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Tesla from $227.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Tesla from $248.00 to $230.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $204.21.

Tesla Profile

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.