Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Up 1.7% - Here's What Happened

Shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) rose 1.7% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $367.34 and last traded at $360.09. Approximately 27,852,437 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 63% from the average daily volume of 75,090,922 shares. The stock had previously closed at $354.11.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TSLA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Tesla from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Tesla from $480.00 to $440.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Phillip Securities downgraded Tesla from a "moderate sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Roth Capital raised Tesla from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Tesla from $195.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $326.50.

Tesla Trading Down 4.7 %

The stock has a market cap of $1.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 165.59, a PEG ratio of 5.97 and a beta of 2.34. The business has a 50-day moving average of $402.14 and a 200 day moving average of $311.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.02.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.08). Tesla had a return on equity of 10.31% and a net margin of 7.26%. Equities research analysts predict that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Tesla

In other Tesla news, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 100,000 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.54, for a total value of $35,254,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,400 shares in the company, valued at $1,903,716. The trade was a 94.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 7,000 shares of Tesla 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 105,032 shares in the company, valued at $37,226,491.76. This represents a 6.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 523,386 shares of company stock worth $195,995,200 in the last 90 days. 20.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tesla

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ascent Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Tesla by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 14,479 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $5,847,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares in the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Tesla during the 4th quarter worth approximately $467,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Tesla during the 4th quarter worth approximately $428,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in Tesla by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 429,860 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $173,595,000 after acquiring an additional 150,438 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Griffith & Werner Inc. acquired a new position in Tesla during the 4th quarter worth approximately $206,000. 66.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.