Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Stock Price Up 4.6% - Time to Buy?

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) shares shot up 4.6% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $250.44 and last traded at $243.93. 55,830,503 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 41% from the average session volume of 94,488,464 shares. The stock had previously closed at $233.29.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Tesla from $474.00 to $455.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Tesla from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. Cowen raised Tesla from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Oppenheimer restated a "mixed" rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their price target on Tesla from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $298.59.

Tesla Stock Down 0.2 %

The company has a market cap of $810.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 123.51, 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 quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.02. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $285.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $323.09.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last issued 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 anticipate that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Tesla

In other Tesla news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 112,390 shares of the firm's 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 owns 85,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,643,400. This trade represents a 56.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director James R. Murdoch sold 54,776 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.79, for a total transaction of $13,189,513.04. Following the sale, the director now owns 477,011 shares of the company's stock, valued at $114,859,478.69. This represents a 10.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 374,228 shares of company stock valued at $123,791,123. Insiders own 20.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Tesla

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in shares of Tesla by 79.5% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 70 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. boosted 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 worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. GS Investments Inc. grew its position in Tesla by 193.3% during the 4th quarter. GS Investments Inc. now owns 88 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Tesla in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Tesla during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. 66.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.