Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Stock Price Up 0.1% – Still a Buy?

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s share price shot up 0.1% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $359.10 and last traded at $356.03. 23,358,698 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 75,698,430 shares. The stock had previously closed at $355.84.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Roth Mkm raised Tesla from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $85.00 to $380.00 in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Tesla from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Phillip Securities downgraded shares of Tesla from a “moderate sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Tesla from $195.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Tesla from $480.00 to $440.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Tesla currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $326.50.

Tesla Stock Down 1.7 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.14 trillion, a P/E ratio of 173.73, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.34. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $403.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $311.13. 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 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 net margin of 7.26% and a return on equity of 10.31%. Equities research analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Tesla

In other news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.43, for a total value of $2,481,010.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 105,032 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,226,491.76. This trade represents a 6.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $352.54, for a total transaction of $35,254,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,400 shares in the company, valued at $1,903,716. This represents a 94.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 523,386 shares of company stock worth $195,995,200. Corporate insiders own 20.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hengehold Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Tesla by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 1,347 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $544,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI raised its position in Tesla by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI now owns 6,990 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $2,823,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Acropolis Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Tesla by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 2,814 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $1,136,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Mount Vernon Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Tesla by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Mount Vernon Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,305 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $2,950,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vista Finance LLC raised its holdings in Tesla by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vista Finance LLC now owns 3,510 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.