Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $225.31, but opened at $231.61. Tesla shares last traded at $231.09, with a volume of 14,302,782 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TSLA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Tesla from $295.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Tesla from $440.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Cowen raised shares of Tesla from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on shares of Tesla from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on Tesla from $490.00 to $380.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Tesla has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $321.12.

Tesla Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $344.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $320.61. The firm has a market cap of $742.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 113.31, a P/E/G ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.50.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director James R. Murdoch sold 54,776 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.79, for a total value of $13,189,513.04. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 477,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,859,478.69. The trade was a 10.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.63, for a total value of $41,163,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,222,802. This trade represents a 94.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 477,228 shares of company stock valued at $166,849,043 in the last quarter. 20.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in Tesla by 79.5% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Tesla by 75.6% in 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. boosted its position 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 buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Tesla during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Tesla in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Tesla

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.