Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Up 11.9% on Analyst Upgrade

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s stock price was up 11.9% during trading on Wednesday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $180.00 to $182.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Tesla traded as high as $167.97 and last traded at $161.83. Approximately 89,534,047 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 12% from the average daily volume of 101,746,445 shares. The stock had previously closed at $144.68.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Tesla from $150.00 to $120.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on shares of Tesla from $267.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on shares of Tesla from $234.00 to $222.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Tesla from $294.00 to $293.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Tesla from $225.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $186.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 93,706 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.73, for a total transaction of $18,247,369.38. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,920,950. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, SVP Andrew D. Baglino sold 10,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.20, for a total transaction of $1,850,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,502,726. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 93,706 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.73, for a total transaction of $18,247,369.38. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,920,950. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 209,098 shares of company stock worth $38,802,534. Insiders own 20.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Tesla by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 922 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in Tesla by 73.8% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 7,430 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $1,859,000 after purchasing an additional 3,156 shares during the period. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Tesla by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,072 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $3,964,000 after purchasing an additional 1,923 shares during the period. Leverty Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Tesla during the 3rd quarter valued at $213,000. Finally, Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. increased its position in Tesla by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 1,314 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Tesla Trading Up 12.1 %

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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $176.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $208.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $516.35 billion, a PE ratio of 37.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 2.39.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $25.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.64 billion. Tesla had a net margin of 15.50% and a return on equity of 16.62%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.07 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Tesla, Inc. will post 1.97 EPS for the current fiscal 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.