Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Trading Up 4.4% - Time to Buy?

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) shares shot up 4.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $435.00 and last traded at $432.06. 33,617,777 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 56% from the average session volume of 75,602,938 shares. The stock had previously closed at $413.82.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on TSLA. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Tesla from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Tesla from $295.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Tesla from $298.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Mizuho raised Tesla from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $230.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Tesla from $197.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Tesla has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $299.33.

Tesla Stock Up 3.1 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $387.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $286.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a market capitalization of $1.37 trillion, a PE ratio of 116.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.53 and a beta of 2.30.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $25.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.47 billion. Tesla had a return on equity of 10.24% and a net margin of 13.07%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.53 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Tesla, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kimbal Musk sold 60,500 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.23, for a total value of $15,138,915.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,563,220 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $391,164,540.60. The trade was a 3.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 112,390 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.44, for a total value of $35,339,911.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 85,000 shares in the company, valued at $26,727,400. This represents a 56.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 621,886 shares of company stock valued at $213,451,751. Company insiders own 20.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TSLA. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Tesla in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Clean Yield Group grew its position in shares of Tesla by 60.0% during the third quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 128 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Tesla by 168.8% during the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Tesla in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, M&R Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Tesla by 263.2% during the 3rd quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 138 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 66.20% of the stock is currently 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.