Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Up 6.3% - Here's Why

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) rose 6.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $289.33 and last traded at $289.08. Approximately 54,579,263 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 41% from the average daily volume of 91,918,281 shares. The stock had previously closed at $272.06.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on TSLA shares. Benchmark started coverage on shares of Tesla in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $475.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Tesla from $492.00 to $474.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Cowen raised Tesla from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. HSBC cut their price target on Tesla from $165.00 to $130.00 and set a "reduce" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Tesla from $430.00 to $410.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Tesla currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $318.34.

Tesla Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $847.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 129.19, a P/E/G ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The business's fifty day moving average price is $321.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $322.34.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.66 earnings per share (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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Tesla

In related news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $413.56, for a total transaction of $2,894,920.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 108,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,063,565.40. This trade represents a 6.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.63, for a total transaction of $41,163,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,222,802. This represents a 94.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 477,228 shares of company stock worth $166,849,043 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 20.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tesla

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of TSLA. Milestone Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Tesla in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,186,000. Avant Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Tesla in the 4th quarter worth $519,000. Fire Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Tesla in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,424,000. Fulcrum Equity Management raised its stake in shares of Tesla by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Fulcrum Equity Management now owns 1,103 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $445,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M1 Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Tesla during the fourth quarter worth about $863,000. 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.