Truist Financial Raises Tesla Price Target Amid Positive Forecast

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) received an optimistic forecast from Truist Financial, which increased its target price from $280.00 to $406.00 in a research note released on October 5, 2023. Despite this upward revision, Truist maintains a “hold” rating on the electric vehicle manufacturer’s stock. The new price target suggests a potential downside of 7.51% from Tesla’s current trading price.

Other analysts have also recently updated their evaluations of Tesla. UBS Group set a target price of $247.00 on October 6, 2023, while CICC Research raised its target from $360.00 to $450.00, assigning an “outperform” rating. On July 27, 2023, Daiwa Capital Markets reaffirmed a “neutral” rating, and Piper Sandler increased their target from $400.00 to $500.00 on September 22, 2023. HSBC has also raised its target price from $120.00 to $127.00.

Investor sentiment appears mixed, as two analysts rate the stock as a Strong Buy, twenty-one give a Buy rating, twelve assign a Hold rating, and ten analysts suggest a Sell rating. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Tesla currently holds a consensus rating of “Hold” with an average target price of $366.95.

Tesla’s Recent Earnings Performance

Tesla’s latest earnings report, released on October 22, 2023, showed that the company reported earnings of $0.50 per share, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.02. The firm generated revenue of $28.10 billion for the quarter, significantly exceeding analyst expectations of $24.98 billion. Tesla’s return on equity stood at 7.98%, with a net margin of 6.54%. This represented an 11.6% increase in revenue compared to the same quarter last year, where earnings per share were recorded at $0.72. Analysts project that Tesla will reach $2.56 in earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Trading Activity

In related developments, Senior Vice President Xiaotong Zhu sold 20,000 shares on September 11, 2023, at an average price of $363.75, amounting to a total transaction of $7,275,000.00. Post-sale, Zhu retained 47,600 shares valued at approximately $17.31 million, representing a 29.59% decrease in their holdings.

Additionally, Director James R. Murdoch sold 120,000 shares on August 26, 2023, at an average price of $350.29, totaling $42,034,800.00. Following this sale, Murdoch owns 697,031 shares, valued at around $244.16 million, reflecting a 14.69% reduction in ownership. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold a total of 202,606 shares valued at approximately $75.59 million. Corporate insiders currently hold 19.90% of Tesla’s stock.

Institutional Investor Activity

Several institutional investors have made recent moves regarding Tesla shares. Chapman Financial Group LLC acquired a new position during the second quarter, valued at approximately $26,000. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI also bought shares in the first quarter, investing around $27,000. Notably, Chelsea Counsel Co. increased its stake in Tesla by 59.7% in the same quarter, now holding 107 shares worth approximately $28,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares.

Additionally, Centennial Bank AR raised its position by 833.3% in the first quarter, now owning 112 shares valued at about $29,000. In total, institutional investors control 66.20% of Tesla’s shares.

Tesla, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, leases, and sells electric vehicles, along with energy generation and storage systems globally. The company operates in two segments: Automotive and Energy Generation and Storage. The Automotive segment includes the sale of electric vehicles, automotive regulatory credits, non-warranty after-sales services, used vehicles, parts, and vehicle insurance services.