Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Stock Price Up 1.8% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Tesla's stock price increased by 1.8%, trading at $447.43 with a notable decrease in trading volume of approximately 38% from its average.
• Analysts' ratings for Tesla are mixed, with a range of price targets from $300 to $520, reflecting a consensus average target price of $363.54 and an average rating of "Hold".
• Recent insider selling included significant transactions by SVP Xiaotong Zhu and CFO Vaibhav Taneja, collectively selling over $8 million worth of shares, highlighting sell-off activities among executives.

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 1.8% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $449.80 and last traded at $447.43. Approximately 63,163,056 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 38% from the average daily volume of 101,991,492 shares. The stock had previously closed at $439.31.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TSLA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Melius Research set a $520.00 price target on shares of Tesla and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Tesla from $375.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Tesla from $395.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Two equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $363.54.

Tesla Stock Up 1.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.04. The firm's 50-day moving average is $387.54 and its 200 day moving average is $334.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.49 trillion, a PE ratio of 258.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 15.79 and a beta of 2.08.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.03). Tesla had a return on equity of 7.98% and a net margin of 6.54%.The business had revenue of $22.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. Tesla's quarterly revenue was down 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Tesla

In other Tesla news, SVP Xiaotong Zhu sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $363.75, for a total value of $7,275,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 47,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,314,500. This represents a 29.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,606 shares of the company'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 approximately $3,473,057.28. This trade represents a 20.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 202,606 shares of company stock worth $75,588,902. Corporate insiders own 19.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 251,390,681 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $79,856,764,000 after acquiring an additional 4,502,976 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Tesla by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 64,767,993 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $20,480,477,000 after purchasing an additional 1,269,304 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Tesla during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $11,839,824,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Tesla by 322.1% during the 1st 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. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Tesla by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 20,225,098 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $6,424,705,000 after purchasing an additional 1,134,678 shares in the last quarter. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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