Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Trading 1.7% Higher - Still a Buy?

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 1.7% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $258.15 and last traded at $255.10. Approximately 35,476,838 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 63% from the average daily volume of 95,970,459 shares. The stock had previously closed at $250.74.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Tesla from $420.00 to $345.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Tesla from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "sell" rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a report on Thursday. Cowen raised shares of Tesla from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Argus set a $410.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a research note on Thursday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $287.46.

Tesla Stock Up 9.8 %

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 50 day simple moving average of $263.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $323.02. The stock has a market cap of $916.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 139.68, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.58.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.26). Tesla had a net margin of 7.26% and a return on equity of 10.31%. The business had revenue of $19.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 112,390 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $384.04, for a total transaction of $43,162,255.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 85,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,643,400. This represents a 56.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $1,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 26,950 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,737,500. The trade was a 12.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 374,228 shares of company stock worth $123,791,123 in the last quarter. Insiders own 20.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Tesla

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hengehold Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Tesla by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 1,347 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $544,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC grew its position in Tesla by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 2,814 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $1,136,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Mount Vernon Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Tesla by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Mount Vernon Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,305 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $2,950,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vista Finance LLC raised its position in Tesla by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vista Finance LLC now owns 3,510 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 66.20% of the company's stock.

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.