Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Trading Up 1.7% - Here's Why

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 1.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $258.15 and last traded at $255.10. 35,476,838 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 63% from the average session volume of 95,970,459 shares. The stock had previously closed at $250.74.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Tesla from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. BNP Paribas set a $137.00 target price on Tesla and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Glj Research reissued a "sell" rating and issued a $19.05 price target (down from $24.86) on shares of Tesla in a report on Monday, April 21st. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Tesla from $375.00 to $325.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $287.46.

Tesla Price Performance

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 cap of $919.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 140.14, a P/E/G ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.58. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $263.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $323.61.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.26). Tesla had a return on equity of 10.31% and a net margin of 7.26%. The company had revenue of $19.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Tesla news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 112,390 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.04, for a total transaction of $43,162,255.60. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 85,000 shares in the company, valued at $32,643,400. This represents a 56.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 7,000 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $41,745,581.15. The trade was a 6.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 374,228 shares of company stock valued at $123,791,123. Corporate insiders own 20.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new position in Tesla in the fourth quarter worth approximately $56,600,000. Destination Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Tesla by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter. Destination Wealth Management now owns 12,597 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $3,296,000 after purchasing an additional 1,359 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its position in shares of Tesla by 126.7% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 1,594 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $644,000 after purchasing an additional 891 shares during the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Tesla by 383.1% during the fourth quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC now owns 8,314 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $3,358,000 after purchasing an additional 6,593 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Family Wealth Counselors L.L.C. raised its stake in Tesla by 133.7% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Family Wealth Counselors L.L.C. now owns 2,847 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $1,150,000 after buying an additional 1,629 shares in the last quarter. 66.20% of the stock is currently 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.