Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Trading Up 6.5% - Here's Why

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 6.5% on Monday . The company traded as high as $322.21 and last traded at $317.59. 53,342,826 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 44% from the average session volume of 96,086,920 shares. The stock had previously closed at $298.26.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TSLA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $430.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Tesla from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial set a $280.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, HSBC dropped their price target on Tesla from $165.00 to $130.00 and set a "reduce" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $287.46.

Tesla Stock Up 3.8%

The business's fifty day moving average is $260.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $328.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.02. The company has a market cap of $1.12 trillion, a P/E ratio of 170.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.43.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Tesla news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $1,200,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 26,950 shares in the company, valued at $8,085,000. This trade represents a 12.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director James R. Murdoch sold 54,776 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 477,011 shares in the company, valued at $114,859,478.69. This represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 412,623 shares of company stock worth $115,600,501. Insiders own 20.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Tesla

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Tesla by 86.3% in the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 95 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. First PREMIER Bank grew its stake in Tesla by 79.2% in the 1st quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 95 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Newton One Investments LLC grew its position in Tesla by 250.0% in the 1st quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 105 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI acquired a new position in Tesla in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in Tesla by 79.5% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 70 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Tesla

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.