Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Gap Up to $172.63

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $172.63, but opened at $178.58. Tesla shares last traded at $182.32, with a volume of 24,097,921 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Monday. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on shares of Tesla from $267.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $195.00 price target (down previously from $270.00) on shares of Tesla in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Tesla from $225.00 to $185.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Tesla from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $207.04.

Tesla Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $572.72 billion, a PE ratio of 41.72, a P/E/G ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 2.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.73. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $188.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $222.36.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $25.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.64 billion. Tesla had a return on equity of 16.62% and a net margin of 15.50%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.07 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Tesla

In related news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 93,705 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.44, for a total value of $16,439,605.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,631,600. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Xiaotong Zhu sold 687 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.11, for a total value of $121,674.57. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 63,171 shares in the company, valued at $11,188,215.81. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 93,705 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.44, for a total transaction of $16,439,605.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,631,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 198,598 shares of company stock worth $36,952,434. 20.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Tesla by 3.3% during the first quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 472 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $509,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. City State Bank lifted its position in Tesla by 3.3% during the third quarter. City State Bank now owns 1,260 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $315,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC lifted its position in Tesla by 0.6% during the third quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 7,393 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $1,850,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Investors Research Corp lifted its position in Tesla by 5.5% during the second quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 801 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $210,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Tesla by 1.0% during the third quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,353 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. 66.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.