Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Stock Price Up 2.5% – What’s Next?

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) rose 2.5% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $243.93 and last traded at $242.19. Approximately 45,642,749 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 50% from the average daily volume of 90,819,679 shares. The stock had previously closed at $236.26.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on TSLA shares. UBS Group dropped their target price on Tesla from $259.00 to $225.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Tesla from $440.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Tesla from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $425.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “cautious” rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, New Street Research raised Tesla from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $460.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $318.93.

Tesla Trading Up 4.6 %

The stock has a market cap of $794.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 120.91, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $338.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $319.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.61.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.08). Tesla had a return on equity of 10.31% and a net margin of 7.26%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Tesla

In related news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $413.56, for a total transaction of $2,894,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,965 shares in the company, valued at $45,063,565.40. This represents a 6.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 100,000 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.63, for a total value of $41,163,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,400 shares in the company, valued at $2,222,802. This trade represents a 94.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 477,228 shares of company stock worth $166,849,043. 20.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in Tesla by 79.5% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 70 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Horrell Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Tesla by 75.6% in the fourth quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. GS Investments Inc. increased its position in Tesla by 193.3% during the 4th quarter. GS Investments Inc. now owns 88 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in shares of Tesla in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Tesla during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. 66.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.