Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Up 2.5% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Tesla shares increased by 2.5% on Friday, with the stock trading at $439.31 after reaching a high of $441.46.
• Several analysts have given mixed ratings for Tesla, with two recommending a Strong Buy, while the average price target stands at $363.54.
• Insider transactions revealed significant selling, with Director James R. Murdoch offloading 120,000 shares for approximately $42 million.

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) shares shot up 2.5% on Friday . The company traded as high as $441.46 and last traded at $439.31. 88,608,123 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 13% from the average session volume of 102,183,961 shares. The stock had previously closed at $428.75.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on TSLA. Glj Research reaffirmed a "sell" rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Thursday, July 24th. HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of Tesla from $120.00 to $127.00 in a report on Monday, September 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Tesla from $345.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. UBS Group set a $247.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Tesla from $235.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and ten have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $363.54.

Tesla Stock Up 2.5%

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.46 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 253.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 15.64 and a beta of 2.08. The business's 50-day moving average is $385.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $332.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $22.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.18 billion. Tesla had a return on equity of 7.98% and a net margin of 6.54%.The business's revenue was down 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James R. Murdoch sold 120,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.29, for a total transaction of $42,034,800.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 697,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $244,162,988.99. The trade was a 14.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,606 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $352.38, for a total transaction of $918,302.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 9,856 shares in the company, valued at $3,473,057.28. The trade was a 20.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 202,606 shares of company stock worth $75,588,902. 19.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tesla

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lpwm LLC boosted its holdings in Tesla by 44.4% in the 3rd quarter. Lpwm LLC now owns 2,101 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $934,000 after purchasing an additional 646 shares during the last quarter. Constitution Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Tesla in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $365,000. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 19.5% in the 3rd quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. now owns 1,217 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $541,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 2,801 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $1,246,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Petros Family Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Petros Family Wealth LLC now owns 3,163 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $1,407,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. 66.20% of the stock is currently 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.

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