Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Stock Price Up 2.1% - Here's Why

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) shares traded up 2.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $350.22 and last traded at $349.81. 30,201,404 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 97,841,208 shares. The stock had previously closed at $342.69.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Cfra Research downgraded shares of Tesla from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $450.00 price target on shares of Tesla and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Glj Research reiterated a "sell" rating and issued a $19.05 price target (down previously from $24.86) on shares of Tesla in a report on Monday, April 21st. Piper Sandler set a $400.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Raymond James cut shares of Tesla to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Tesla has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $293.97.

Tesla Price Performance

The company's 50-day moving average is $291.12 and its 200-day moving average is $334.34. 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 has a market capitalization of $1.07 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 162.77, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.47.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Tesla

In related news, Director James R. Murdoch sold 54,776 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.79, for a total value of $13,189,513.04. Following the transaction, the director now owns 477,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,859,478.69. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Ira Matthew Ehrenpreis sold 477,572 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $357.30, for a total transaction of $170,636,475.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 855,394 shares in the company, valued at $305,632,276.20. The trade was a 35.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 866,393 shares of company stock worth $284,570,654. Company insiders own 20.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in TSLA. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Tesla during the fourth quarter worth $14,420,248,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Tesla by 322.1% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 26,590,525 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $6,891,201,000 after purchasing an additional 20,291,139 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Tesla during the first quarter worth $3,247,619,000. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Tesla by 40.1% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 34,661,400 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $13,997,660,000 after purchasing an additional 9,920,325 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Tesla by 27,378.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,812,316 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $2,542,960,000 after purchasing an additional 9,776,607 shares in the last quarter. 66.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.