Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Up 4.6% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) traded up 4.6% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $250.44 and last traded at $243.93. Approximately 55,830,503 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 41% from the average daily volume of 94,488,464 shares. The stock had previously closed at $233.29.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on TSLA shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Tesla from $474.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $404.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Tesla from $430.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group reduced their target price on Tesla from $259.00 to $225.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Tesla presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $305.31.

Tesla Trading Down 2.2 %

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $302.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $324.17. 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 stock has a market cap of $733.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 112.26, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.58.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last issued 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Tesla

In other Tesla news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $383.11, for a total transaction of $2,681,770.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,965 shares in the company, valued at $41,745,581.15. This trade represents a 6.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 112,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.04, for a total value of $43,162,255.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 85,000 shares in the company, valued at $32,643,400. This trade represents a 56.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 370,228 shares of company stock valued at $122,791,123. Insiders own 20.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. increased its position 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 valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. GS Investments Inc. raised its stake 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 during the last quarter. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Tesla during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Tesla in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.