Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Trading 1.4% Higher - What's Next?

Key Points

• Tesla's share price increased by 1.4% to $435.15, following a significant trading volume drop of 31% from its average daily volume.
• Analysts have set varied price targets for Tesla, with estimates ranging from $300 to $490, as the stock carries an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $363.03.
• Insider trading activity is notable, with CFO Vaibhav Taneja selling over 2,600 shares and Director James R. Murdoch selling 120,000 shares in the last quarter.

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 1.4% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $440.51 and last traded at $435.15. Approximately 71,046,346 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 31% from the average daily volume of 102,377,047 shares. The stock had previously closed at $429.24.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TSLA has been the subject of several research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $355.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Tesla from $333.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Tesla from $395.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Dbs Bank boosted their target price on Tesla from $300.00 to $450.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Tesla from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and eight have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $363.03.

Tesla Trading Up 1.4%

The firm has a market cap of $1.45 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 251.53, a PEG ratio of 15.71 and a beta of 2.08. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $380.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $330.17.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 6.54% and a return on equity of 7.98%. The company 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 company posted $0.52 EPS. Tesla's quarterly revenue was down 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,606 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.38, for a total value of $918,302.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 9,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,473,057.28. This trade represents a 20.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director James R. Murdoch sold 120,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.29, for a total value of $42,034,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 697,031 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $244,162,988.99. This represents a 14.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 202,606 shares of company stock valued at $75,588,902 in the last quarter. 19.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Tesla

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Tesla by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 87,929 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $35,509,000 after acquiring an additional 9,293 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Tesla by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,317 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $2,147,000 after acquiring an additional 931 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Tesla by 52.2% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 10,368 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $4,187,000 after acquiring an additional 3,558 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Tesla by 6.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 37,862 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $9,812,000 after acquiring an additional 2,153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Tesla by 5.9% in the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 3,133 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $812,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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