Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Trading 1.3% Higher - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Tesla's shares rose 1.3% to $438.69 with a significant decline in trading volume.
• Analysts have diverse opinions on Tesla, with ratings ranging from two Strong Buy to eight Sell ratings, and a consensus target price of $345.70.
• Recent insider trades saw notable sales, including Director James R. Murdoch offloading 60,000 shares for about $25.36 million.

Shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) shot up 1.3% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $441.33 and last traded at $438.69. 69,651,396 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 32% from the average session volume of 102,906,953 shares. The stock had previously closed at $433.09.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. China Renaissance reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $349.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a research note on Friday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Tesla from $115.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Tesla from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $320.00 to $548.00 in a report on Friday, September 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Tesla from $345.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "sell" rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and eight have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $345.70.

Tesla Stock Performance

The business's 50-day moving average price is $368.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $324.77. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market cap of $1.46 trillion, a PE ratio of 253.58, a P/E/G ratio of 15.75 and a beta of 2.08.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Tesla

In related news, Director James R. Murdoch sold 60,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $422.68, for a total value of $25,360,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 637,031 shares in the company, valued at $269,260,263.08. The trade was a 8.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Xiaotong Zhu sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $363.75, for a total transaction of $7,275,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 47,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,314,500. The trade was a 29.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 202,606 shares of company stock worth $75,588,902. Company insiders own 19.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Tesla by 86.3% during the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 95 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. First PREMIER Bank grew its holdings in shares of Tesla by 79.2% during the first quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 95 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Chapman Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Tesla in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Newton One Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Tesla by 250.0% in the first 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 during the period. Finally, Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI purchased a new stake in shares of Tesla in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.20% of the company's stock.

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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