Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Trading Up 11.9% Following Analyst Upgrade

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s stock price traded up 11.9% during trading on Wednesday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $180.00 to $182.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Tesla traded as high as $167.97 and last traded at $161.83. 89,534,047 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 12% from the average session volume of 101,746,445 shares. The stock had previously closed at $144.68.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Tesla in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. Edward Jones lowered shares of Tesla from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Tesla from $294.00 to $293.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Tesla from $176.00 to $162.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Tesla from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $245.00 to $195.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $186.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Tesla news, SVP Andrew D. Baglino sold 10,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.20, for a total transaction of $1,850,100.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 31,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,502,726. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 93,706 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.73, for a total value of $18,247,369.38. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,920,950. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Andrew D. Baglino sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.20, for a total transaction of $1,850,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,230 shares in the company, valued at $5,502,726. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 209,098 shares of company stock valued at $38,802,534. Insiders own 20.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Tesla

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wyrmwood Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Tesla in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Lam Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Tesla in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Tesla by 202.2% in the 4th quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 136 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Ogorek Anthony Joseph NY ADV lifted its stake in shares of Tesla by 94.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ogorek Anthony Joseph NY ADV now owns 142 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A acquired a new position in shares of Tesla in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. 66.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Tesla Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.73. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $176.81 and its 200-day moving average is $209.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $516.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.41, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 2.39.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $25.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.64 billion. Tesla had a return on equity of 16.62% and a net margin of 15.50%. The business’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.07 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.