Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Trading Up 5.4% Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Tesla's stock price rose by 5.4% following an analyst upgrade from Evercore ISI, increasing their price target from $235 to $300.
• Analyst ratings for Tesla vary widely, with two analysts issuing a Strong Buy rating, while others have set price targets ranging from $175 to $548.
• In recent insider trading, SVP Xiaotong Zhu and Director James R. Murdoch sold shares, decreasing their ownership in the company significantly.

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 5.4% during trading on Monday after Evercore ISI raised their price target on the stock from $235.00 to $300.00. Evercore ISI currently has an in-line rating on the stock. Tesla traded as high as $436.89 and last traded at $435.90. 78,889,271 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 23% from the average session volume of 102,686,563 shares. The stock had previously closed at $413.49.

A number of other research firms have also commented on TSLA. Guggenheim reiterated a "sell" rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Tesla from $115.00 to $150.00 in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $355.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Robert W. Baird upgraded Tesla from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $320.00 to $548.00 in a report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and eight have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Tesla has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $363.03.

Insider Transactions at Tesla

In other Tesla news, 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 47,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,314,500. The trade was a 29.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director James R. Murdoch sold 120,000 shares of the business'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 transaction, the director owned 697,031 shares in the company, valued at $244,162,988.99. The trade was 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 worth $75,588,902 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 19.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Chapman Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Tesla during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. LGT Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Tesla in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC lifted 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 worth $25,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. First PREMIER Bank lifted 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 worth $25,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Tesla during the second quarter worth $30,000. 66.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Tesla Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $375.97 and a 200-day moving average of $328.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.45 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 251.97, a P/E/G ratio of 14.92 and a beta of 2.08.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $22.50 billion during 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%. Tesla's revenue was down 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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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