Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Earns Neutral Rating from Barclays

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Barclays in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,MarketScreener reports.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on TSLA. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Tesla from $538.00 to $522.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Friday, January 2nd. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $490.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a research report on Thursday. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price target on Tesla from $313.00 to $280.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, President Capital reduced their price target on Tesla from $500.00 to $424.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and eight have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $398.45.

Tesla Price Performance

Shares of Tesla stock opened at $372.66 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $386.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $421.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.40 trillion, a PE ratio of 342.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 1.91. Tesla has a 12 month low of $249.20 and a 12 month high of $498.83.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.02. Tesla had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 4.96%. The business had revenue of $22.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.27 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Tesla will post 1.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Tesla

In related news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,264 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $397.03, for a total value of $898,875.92. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 18,106 shares in the company, valued at $7,188,625.18. This represents a 11.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 25,809 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.33, for a total value of $9,273,947.97. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 33,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,166,913.80. This trade represents a 43.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 53,804 shares of company stock worth $20,865,598 in the last 90 days. 19.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tesla

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Tesla in the fourth quarter worth about $17,128,100,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Tesla by 3,205.5% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 21,459,599 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $9,650,811,000 after buying an additional 20,810,386 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Tesla by 56.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 20,755,605 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $9,334,211,000 after acquiring an additional 7,450,766 shares in the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. raised its holdings in Tesla by 882.8% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 8,202,060 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $3,688,630,000 after acquiring an additional 7,367,507 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Tesla by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 258,925,024 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $116,443,762,000 after acquiring an additional 6,538,720 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.20% of the company’s stock.

Tesla News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Tesla this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat on EPS and surprise positive free cash flow gives near-term support to TSLA; investors point to profitability resilience despite softer vehicle demand. Tesla reports surprise positive free cash flow
• Positive Sentiment: Elon Musk says Tesla has begun pilot production of Cybercab robotaxis and shared video of an occupant-less vehicle — a tangible milestone for the autonomy/robotaxi narrative that supports longer-term upside. Elon Musk says Tesla has started producing cybecabs
• Positive Sentiment: Tesla’s share in California new‑car registrations jumped to ~56% in Q1 — a sign the company still holds market strength in its largest U.S. EV market. Tesla’s California market share soars to 56% in Q1 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Intel/Tesla Terafab disclosure (plans to use Intel’s 14A process) reduces some chip‑supply uncertainty for Tesla’s in‑house AI chip ambitions and helped chip partners rally. Elon Musk lays out Terafab AI chip project plan
• Neutral Sentiment: Next‑gen A15 AI chip tape‑out clears a technical milestone for Tesla’s compute roadmap, but manufacturing and scale remain the bigger near‑term questions. This Is What Tesla Inc. (TSLA) A15 Chip Tape-out Means
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts are split: some firms (TD Cowen, Cantor, Canaccord) reiterated/upgraded ratings and raised targets, while others stuck to neutral or trimmed targets — providing both support and friction in the stock. Benzinga coverage of analyst moves
• Negative Sentiment: Tesla warned it will spend more than $25 billion this year on AI, chips and robotics — investors fear a sharp capex ramp will push cash flow negative for 2026 and compress near‑term returns. That announcement has been the primary sell catalyst since the earnings call. Tesla’s $25 billion spending plan tests investor faith
• Negative Sentiment: Musk acknowledged older HW3 vehicles won’t achieve unsupervised FSD without upgrades — a costly retrofit promise for owners and a reputational/headline risk for Tesla. Elon Musk admits millions of Tesla owners need upgrades for true ‘Full Self-Driving’
• Negative Sentiment: Timelines for robotaxi / Optimus commercialization were softened or removed in the Q1 filing and call; analysts warned rollout is slower than hoped — increasing execution risk versus the premium valuation. Musk sounds cautious tone on robotaxis amid slower-than-expected rollout
• Negative Sentiment: A brief, vague SEC‑filed ~ $2B AI/hardware acquisition disclosure (no company named) added uncertainty about what Tesla bought and its near‑term impact on financials. Tesla slips one-sentence disclosure of a mysterious $2 billion AI hardware acquisition

Tesla Company Profile

Tesla, Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) is an American company that designs, manufactures and sells electric vehicles, energy generation and energy storage products. Founded in 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, Tesla grew into a vertically integrated mobility and clean‑energy company with Elon Musk serving as its chief executive officer. The company’s stated mission is to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy, reflected in its combined focus on electric drivetrains, battery technology, renewable energy products and software.

Tesla’s automotive business includes a lineup of battery‑electric vehicles and related services.