Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Up 5.1% – Here’s What Happened

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) shot up 5.1% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $358.69 and last traded at $353.76. 35,118,949 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 54% from the average session volume of 75,866,516 shares. The stock had previously closed at $336.51.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on TSLA. StockNews.com lowered Tesla from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Monday. Roth Mkm upgraded Tesla from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $380.00 in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Tesla from $254.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Tesla from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Tesla presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $326.50.

Tesla Stock Up 4.4 %

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $407.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $306.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.13 trillion, a P/E ratio of 172.02, a PEG ratio of 6.22 and a beta of 2.34.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.08). Tesla had a return on equity of 10.31% and a net margin of 7.26%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Tesla

In related news, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $352.54, for a total value of $35,254,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,903,716. This trade represents a 94.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 112,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.44, for a total transaction of $35,339,911.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 85,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,727,400. The trade was a 56.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 635,776 shares of company stock worth $231,335,112. Corporate insiders own 20.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Tesla in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Horrell Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Tesla by 75.6% in the fourth quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Tesla in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. GS Investments Inc. raised its stake in Tesla by 193.3% in the fourth quarter. GS Investments Inc. now owns 88 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Tesla in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.20% of the company’s stock.

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.