Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Stock Price Up 8% - Should You Buy?

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $258.13 and last traded at $257.02. Approximately 66,354,263 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 31% from the average daily volume of 96,016,681 shares. The stock had previously closed at $237.97.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TSLA has been the topic of several research reports. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Tesla from $370.00 to $320.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Tesla from $375.00 to $325.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James lowered Tesla to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. BNP Paribas set a $137.00 target price on Tesla and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on Tesla from $195.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Ten 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 given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Tesla presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $287.46.

Tesla Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $916.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 139.68, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $263.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $323.02.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last posted its 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). The company had revenue of $19.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.93 billion. Tesla had a net margin of 7.26% and a return on equity of 10.31%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Tesla

In other Tesla news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 4,000 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 26,950 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,737,500. The trade was a 12.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 112,390 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $384.04, for a total value of $43,162,255.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 85,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,643,400. The trade was a 56.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 374,228 shares of company stock valued at $123,791,123 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 20.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Tesla by 86.3% in the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 95 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. First PREMIER Bank lifted its position in Tesla by 79.2% in the first quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 95 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Newton One Investments LLC boosted its stake in Tesla by 250.0% during the 1st quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 105 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of Tesla by 79.5% during the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, Horrell Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Tesla by 75.6% in the 4th quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.20% of the company's stock.

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.