Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Up 3.2% – Still a Buy?

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s stock price was up 3.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $234.13 and last traded at $232.58. Approximately 36,974,477 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 59% from the average daily volume of 90,591,108 shares. The stock had previously closed at $225.31.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on TSLA shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Tesla from $440.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on shares of Tesla from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Tesla from $259.00 to $225.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Roth Mkm raised Tesla from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $380.00 in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Roth Capital upgraded Tesla from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $321.12.

Tesla Stock Up 3.9 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $752.94 billion, a PE ratio of 114.72, a P/E/G ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $344.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $320.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.66 earnings per share 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Tesla

In other Tesla news, Director James R. Murdoch sold 54,776 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.79, for a total transaction of $13,189,513.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 477,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,859,478.69. The trade was a 10.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 100,000 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.63, for a total transaction of $41,163,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,222,802. This represents a 94.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 477,228 shares of company stock worth $166,849,043. 20.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in Tesla by 79.5% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 70 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Horrell Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Tesla by 75.6% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. GS Investments Inc. grew its position in Tesla by 193.3% in the fourth quarter. GS Investments Inc. now owns 88 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Navigoe LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Tesla during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Tesla during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.