Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Up 8% - Should You Buy?

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 8% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $258.13 and last traded at $257.02. Approximately 66,354,263 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 31% from the average daily volume of 96,016,681 shares. The stock had previously closed at $237.97.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. BNP Paribas set a $137.00 price target on shares of Tesla and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Cfra Research lowered Tesla from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on Tesla from $425.00 to $355.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. New Street Research upgraded Tesla from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $460.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "sell" rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a research note on Thursday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned 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 price target of $287.46.

Tesla Stock Up 7.5 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market cap of $897.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 136.98, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.58. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $265.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $322.18.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.26). The firm had revenue of $19.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.93 billion. Tesla had a return on equity of 10.31% and a net margin of 7.26%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS 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 that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $383.11, for a total transaction of $2,681,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 108,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $41,745,581.15. This trade represents a 6.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director James R. Murdoch sold 54,776 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 477,011 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $114,859,478.69. This represents a 10.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 374,228 shares of company stock worth $123,791,123. Corporate insiders own 20.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TSLA. Hengehold Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Tesla by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 1,347 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $544,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Advisors MI lifted its holdings in Tesla by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI now owns 6,990 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $2,823,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Tesla by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 2,814 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $1,136,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Mount Vernon Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Tesla by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Mount Vernon Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,305 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $2,950,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vista Finance LLC raised its position in shares of Tesla by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vista Finance LLC now owns 3,510 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.