Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Up 3.2% - Time to Buy?

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 3.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $307.92 and last traded at $305.35. Approximately 38,791,003 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 61% from the average daily volume of 100,254,566 shares. The stock had previously closed at $295.88.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TSLA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Roth Mkm decreased their price target on Tesla from $450.00 to $395.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $303.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a research note on Monday, June 30th. UBS Group set a $290.00 price target on Tesla in a research note on Monday, June 30th. HSBC reissued a "reduce" rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Tesla from $315.00 to $285.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Tesla has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $300.19.

Tesla Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $322.60 and a 200-day moving average of $321.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.01 trillion, a PE ratio of 172.26, a P/E/G ratio of 9.22 and a beta of 2.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 2.00.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.26). Tesla had a return on equity of 9.02% and a net margin of 6.66%. The firm had revenue of $19.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.93 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Tesla

In other news, Director Ira Matthew Ehrenpreis sold 477,572 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $357.30, for a total transaction of $170,636,475.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 855,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at $305,632,276.20. This trade represents a 35.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $600,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 5,924 shares in the company, valued at $1,777,200. The trade was a 25.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 835,509 shares of company stock valued at $279,420,485 over the last 90 days. 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 the stock. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Tesla in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $56,600,000. Means Investment CO. Inc. grew its holdings in Tesla by 37.7% in the 1st quarter. Means Investment CO. Inc. now owns 23,089 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $5,984,000 after buying an additional 6,323 shares during the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. grew its holdings in Tesla by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 22,467 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $5,823,000 after buying an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its holdings in Tesla by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 586,460 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $153,436,000 after buying an additional 46,087 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harvard Management Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Tesla in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,158,000. 66.20% of the stock is owned by 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.