Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Gap Up to $144.68

Shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $144.68, but opened at $162.84. Tesla shares last traded at $166.94, with a volume of 59,321,370 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TSLA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Tesla from $320.00 to $310.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Tesla from $294.00 to $293.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Tesla from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $245.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, HSBC cut their target price on Tesla from $138.00 to $120.00 and set a "reduce" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $186.22.

Tesla Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $176.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $209.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a market cap of $516.35 billion, a PE ratio of 37.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 2.39.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $25.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.64 billion. Tesla had a return on equity of 16.62% and a net margin of 15.50%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.07 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 1.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Tesla

In other news, SVP Xiaotong Zhu sold 687 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.11, for a total value of $121,674.57. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 63,171 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,188,215.81. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, SVP Xiaotong Zhu sold 687 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.11, for a total value of $121,674.57. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 63,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,188,215.81. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 93,705 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.44, for a total value of $16,439,605.20. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 15,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,631,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 209,098 shares of company stock worth $38,802,534 in the last 90 days. 20.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tesla

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dakota Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Tesla by 78.6% during the first quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 23,364 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $4,107,000 after acquiring an additional 10,285 shares during the period. SOL Capital Management CO increased its position in Tesla by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. SOL Capital Management CO now owns 9,292 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $1,633,000 after purchasing an additional 1,045 shares during the period. Smith Anglin Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Tesla by 21.4% during the 1st quarter. Smith Anglin Financial LLC now owns 8,981 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $1,579,000 after buying an additional 1,585 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Tesla by 4,139.7% in the first quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 93,485 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $16,434,000 after buying an additional 91,280 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Archford Capital Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Tesla by 91.9% during the first quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC now owns 1,691 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 810 shares during the period. 66.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.