Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Trading 3.3% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Tesla's stock increased by 3.3% after HSBC upgraded its price target from $120 to $127, closing at $459.46 in mid-day trading.
• Despite the recent upgrade, other analysts still express caution, with Guggenheim and UBS maintaining "sell" ratings alongside a consensus target price of $337.15.
• Company insiders have recently sold a significant amount of shares, with Director James R. Murdoch selling 120,000 shares for over $42 million, indicating potential concerns about the stock's future performance.

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 3.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after HSBC raised their price target on the stock from $120.00 to $127.00. The stock traded as high as $462.29 and last traded at $459.46. 97,252,348 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 5% from the average session volume of 102,816,719 shares. The stock had previously closed at $444.72.

TSLA has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Guggenheim reissued a "sell" rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group reissued a "sell" rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $410.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Finally, William Blair restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Friday, September 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and nine have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Tesla currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $337.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 transaction of $42,034,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 697,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $244,162,988.99. This represents a 14.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Xiaotong Zhu sold 20,000 shares of the business'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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 47,600 shares in the company, valued at $17,314,500. This trade represents a 29.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 208,606 shares of company stock valued at $77,360,462. Company insiders own 19.90% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tesla

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farmers Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Tesla by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 1,513 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $673,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. acquired a new stake in Tesla in the 3rd quarter valued at about $255,000. Hobart Private Capital LLC grew its holdings in Tesla by 12.7% during the third quarter. Hobart Private Capital LLC now owns 2,101 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $934,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. Rydar Equities Inc. acquired a new position in Tesla during the second quarter worth approximately $1,013,000. Finally, Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Tesla by 7.4% in the second quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,903 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $1,557,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the period. 66.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Tesla Stock Performance

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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $356.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $317.64. The company has a market capitalization of $1.53 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 265.58, a PEG ratio of 15.46 and a beta of 2.06.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last announced 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). The business had revenue of $22.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.18 billion. Tesla had a net margin of 6.54% and a return on equity of 7.98%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

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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