Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Trading 5% Higher - Here's What Happened

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $357.61 and last traded at $356.43. 41,339,129 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 97,290,545 shares. The stock had previously closed at $339.34.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on TSLA. Guggenheim reissued a "sell" rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Tesla from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Tesla from $314.00 to $307.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on shares of Tesla from $425.00 to $355.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Argus set a $410.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Tesla presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $293.97.

Tesla Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.12 trillion, a P/E ratio of 171.12, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.43. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $285.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $333.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.02.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $19.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Tesla

In other Tesla news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.02, for a total transaction of $1,776,120.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,833,325.68. This trade represents a 20.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 112,390 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.61, for a total value of $33,673,167.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 85,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,466,850. This trade represents a 56.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 984,783 shares of company stock valued at $320,019,942. 20.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in Tesla by 79.5% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 70 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Tesla by 75.6% during the 4th quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. GS Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Tesla by 193.3% during the 4th quarter. GS Investments Inc. now owns 88 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in Tesla during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Tesla during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. 66.20% of the stock is 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.