Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Trading 2.9% Higher - Still a Buy?

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 2.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $289.75 and last traded at $290.45. Approximately 36,749,111 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 61% from the average daily volume of 95,438,213 shares. The stock had previously closed at $282.16.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on TSLA. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Tesla from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $388.00 in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Glj Research reissued a "sell" rating and set a $19.05 target price (down previously from $24.86) on shares of Tesla in a report on Monday, April 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on shares of Tesla from $425.00 to $355.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Tesla from $314.00 to $307.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $287.46.

Tesla Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $258.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $325.18. The company has a market cap of $925.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 140.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.58.

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

Insider Activity at Tesla

In related news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 7,000 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $383.11, for a total value of $2,681,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 108,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,745,581.15. This trade represents a 6.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 112,390 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.04, for a total value of $43,162,255.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 85,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,643,400. The trade was a 56.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 486,618 shares of company stock worth $155,887,459. Insiders own 20.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in TSLA. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Tesla by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC now owns 1,229 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $319,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. purchased a new position in Tesla in the first quarter worth approximately $332,000. RWQ Financial Management Services Inc. grew its holdings in Tesla by 37.4% during the 1st quarter. RWQ Financial Management Services Inc. now owns 54,286 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $14,069,000 after acquiring an additional 14,781 shares in the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its position in shares of Tesla by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 25,557 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $6,623,000 after purchasing an additional 1,741 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Tesla by 24.8% in the 1st quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 2,772 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $718,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. 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.