Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Trading 7% Higher - Should You Buy?

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 7% on Friday . The company traded as high as $278.18 and last traded at $277.76. 55,108,924 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 42% from the average session volume of 95,728,575 shares. The stock had previously closed at $259.51.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on TSLA shares. Roth Mkm cut their price target on Tesla from $450.00 to $395.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Raymond James cut shares of Tesla to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Tesla from $195.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Tesla from $370.00 to $320.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $350.00 price target (up from $315.00) on shares of Tesla in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $287.46.

Tesla Stock Up 9.8 %

The business has a fifty day moving average of $263.98 and a 200-day moving average of $323.61. The stock has a market cap of $916.55 billion, a PE ratio of 139.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.61.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.26). Tesla had a net margin of 7.26% and a return on equity of 10.31%. The firm had revenue of $19.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Tesla

In other news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $383.11, for a total value of $2,681,770.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,745,581.15. This trade represents a 6.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 112,390 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.04, for a total transaction of $43,162,255.60. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 85,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,643,400. The trade was a 56.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 374,228 shares of company stock valued at $123,791,123 over the last ninety 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 TSLA. Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in Tesla by 65.9% during the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 19,034 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $4,933,000 after acquiring an additional 7,560 shares during the period. Alta Advisers Ltd raised its position in Tesla by 49.1% during the 1st quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 13,972 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $3,621,000 after buying an additional 4,600 shares during the last quarter. Sage Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Tesla in the 1st quarter valued at about $236,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Tesla in the 1st quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Keystone Financial Services LLC grew its position in Tesla by 160.5% during the first quarter. Keystone Financial Services LLC now owns 1,584 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $411,000 after buying an additional 976 shares during the period. 66.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.