Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Up 3.5% – Here’s What Happened

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares were up 3.5% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $236.29 and last traded at $230.01. Approximately 75,967,351 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 10% from the average daily volume of 84,457,797 shares. The stock had previously closed at $222.15.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TSLA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price objective on Tesla from $259.00 to $225.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Cowen raised shares of Tesla from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $404.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley restated a “top pick” rating and issued a $430.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on Tesla from $490.00 to $380.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Tesla currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $326.43.

Tesla Stock Up 5.0 %

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $363.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $319.46. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $749.93 billion, a PE ratio of 114.29, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.50.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.08). Tesla had a return on equity of 10.31% and a net margin of 7.26%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,672 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.73, for a total value of $718,046.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 26,950 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,242,273.50. This trade represents a 9.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.63, for a total transaction of $41,163,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,222,802. This trade represents a 94.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 422,452 shares of company stock worth $153,659,530 over the last three months. 20.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tesla

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in Tesla by 79.5% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 70 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Tesla by 75.6% during the fourth quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. GS Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Tesla by 193.3% during the fourth quarter. GS Investments Inc. now owns 88 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in shares of Tesla in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Tesla in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. 66.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Tesla Company 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.