Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Trading 1.9% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Tesla's stock rose by 1.9% after CICC Research upgraded its price target from $360.00 to $450.00, maintaining an outperform rating.
• Insider sales included Director James R. Murdoch selling 120,000 shares at an average price of $350.29, decreasing his ownership by 14.69%.
• Despite the positive analyst sentiment, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a price target of $324.53 from a mixture of analysts.

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) traded up 1.9% on Monday after CICC Research raised their price target on the stock from $360.00 to $450.00. CICC Research currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Tesla traded as high as $444.98 and last traded at $434.21. 96,271,827 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 7% from the average session volume of 103,366,352 shares. The stock had previously closed at $426.07.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim restated a "sell" rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $475.00 price objective (up previously from $350.00) on shares of Tesla in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Tesla from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $320.00 to $548.00 in a report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Glj Research reissued a "sell" rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and nine have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $324.53.

Insider Activity at Tesla

In other Tesla news, Director James R. Murdoch sold 120,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 $244,162,988.99. This trade represents a 14.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Xiaotong Zhu sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 quarter, insiders sold 208,606 shares of company stock valued at $77,360,462. Insiders own 20.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tesla

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of TSLA. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Tesla by 86.3% during the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 95 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. First PREMIER Bank increased its holdings in Tesla by 79.2% during the first quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 95 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Chapman Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Tesla during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Newton One Investments LLC grew its holdings in Tesla by 250.0% in the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 105 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI purchased a new position in Tesla in the first quarter worth $27,000. 66.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Tesla Stock Up 1.9%

The company's fifty day simple moving average is $340.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $308.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.44 trillion, a PE ratio of 250.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 14.86 and a beta of 2.06.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.40 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $22.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. Tesla's revenue for the quarter was down 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

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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