Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Stock Price Up 2.5% - Here's What Happened

Shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) shot up 2.5% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $243.93 and last traded at $242.19. 45,642,749 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 50% from the average session volume of 90,819,679 shares. The stock had previously closed at $236.26.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on TSLA shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Tesla from $430.00 to $410.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a research note on Thursday. Glj Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Tesla from $295.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, New Street Research upgraded Tesla from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Nine research 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, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $318.93.

Tesla Stock Up 10.3 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $882.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 134.49, a P/E/G ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.50. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $335.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $321.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

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Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Tesla

In related news, Director James R. Murdoch sold 54,776 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.79, for a total value of $13,189,513.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 477,011 shares in the company, valued at $114,859,478.69. The trade was a 10.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.63, for a total value of $41,163,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,222,802. This represents a 94.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 477,228 shares of company stock worth $166,849,043. Corporate insiders own 20.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tesla

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of TSLA. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in Tesla by 79.5% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 70 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Horrell Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Tesla by 75.6% during the 4th quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. GS Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 193.3% during the 4th quarter. GS Investments Inc. now owns 88 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in shares of Tesla in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Tesla in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. 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.