Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Trading 2.6% Higher - Here's Why

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) was up 2.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $286.74 and last traded at $283.30. Approximately 32,831,436 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 95,577,221 shares. The stock had previously closed at $276.22.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on TSLA. Glj Research reiterated a "sell" rating and issued a $19.05 target price (down previously from $24.86) on shares of Tesla in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays lowered their price target on Tesla from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $350.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Tesla from $314.00 to $307.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Roth Mkm reduced their price objective on shares of Tesla from $450.00 to $395.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $287.46.

Tesla Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $258.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $325.63. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $917.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 139.62, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.43.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.26). Tesla had a net margin of 7.26% and a return on equity of 10.31%. The firm had revenue of $19.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Tesla

In other Tesla news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 112,390 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.61, for a total value of $33,673,167.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 85,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,466,850. This trade represents a 56.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director James R. Murdoch sold 54,776 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.79, for a total transaction of $13,189,513.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 477,011 shares of the company's stock, valued at $114,859,478.69. This trade represents a 10.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 296,228 shares of company stock valued at $83,590,784 in the last three months. 20.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Tesla during the fourth quarter worth about $14,420,248,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Tesla by 40.1% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 34,661,400 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $13,997,660,000 after purchasing an additional 9,920,325 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Tesla by 27,378.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,812,316 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $2,542,960,000 after purchasing an additional 9,776,607 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its position in Tesla by 36,790.0% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 8,660,672 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $3,497,526,000 after acquiring an additional 8,637,195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Tesla by 4,963.0% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,834,707 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $2,356,288,000 after purchasing an additional 5,719,466 shares in the last quarter. 66.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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