Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Trading Up 11.9% Following Analyst Upgrade

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 11.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $180.00 to $182.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Tesla traded as high as $167.97 and last traded at $161.83. Approximately 89,534,047 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 12% from the average session volume of 101,746,445 shares. The stock had previously closed at $144.68.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Tesla from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $189.00 to $123.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Tesla from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $245.00 to $195.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Tesla from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on shares of Tesla from $267.00 to $234.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, HSBC cut their price objective on Tesla from $138.00 to $120.00 and set a "reduce" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $186.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Andrew D. Baglino sold 10,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.17, for a total value of $2,143,785.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 31,230 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,376,229.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 93,706 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.73, for a total value of $18,247,369.38. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,920,950. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Andrew D. Baglino sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.17, for a total transaction of $2,143,785.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,376,229.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 209,098 shares of company stock worth $38,802,534 in the last 90 days. 20.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tesla

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its stake in Tesla by 3.5% in the third quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 31,878 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $7,976,000 after acquiring an additional 1,092 shares during the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp increased its holdings in Tesla by 13.9% in the third quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 1,124 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Tesla by 17.3% during the third quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 26,279 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $6,576,000 after buying an additional 3,874 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Tesla by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 922 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Tesla by 71.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC now owns 837 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $209,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Tesla Stock Up 12.1 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $516.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 2.39. The business's 50-day moving average is $176.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $208.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.73.

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

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.