Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Trading Up 0.1% After Analyst Upgrade

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s share price traded up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Friday after Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on the stock from $123.00 to $136.00. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft currently has a hold rating on the stock. Tesla traded as high as $171.25 and last traded at $170.27. 43,083,689 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 102,489,289 shares. The stock had previously closed at $170.18.

TSLA has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Bank of America raised Tesla from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Tesla from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Tesla in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. They set a “sell” rating and a $170.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on Tesla from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $186.70.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 93,706 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.73, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 93,706 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.73, for a total transaction of $18,247,369.38. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,920,950. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Xiaotong Zhu sold 687 shares of the company’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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 63,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,188,215.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 209,098 shares of company stock valued at $38,802,534. 25.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tesla

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mount Vernon Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Tesla by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Mount Vernon Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,940 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $1,724,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the period. Oak Ridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Tesla by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 32,230 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $8,065,000 after purchasing an additional 1,405 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Tesla by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 728,615 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $182,352,000 after purchasing an additional 25,943 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Tesla by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 46,414 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $11,533,000 after buying an additional 6,615 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 776,765 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $193,935,000 after buying an additional 81,729 shares during the period. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Tesla Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $175.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $208.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $543.23 billion, a PE ratio of 43.44, a P/E/G ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 2.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last released its 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). Tesla had a net margin of 14.37% and a return on equity of 13.18%. The business had revenue of $25.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.07 EPS. Tesla’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Tesla, Inc. will post 1.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.