Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Gap Up to $172.63

Shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $172.63, but opened at $178.58. Tesla shares last traded at $182.32, with a volume of 24,097,921 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TSLA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $195.00 target price (down from $270.00) on shares of Tesla in a report on Monday. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Tesla in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. They set a “sell” rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. China Renaissance started coverage on shares of Tesla in a report on Monday, February 26th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Tesla from $260.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Tesla from $250.00 to $225.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Tesla presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $207.04.

Tesla Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $572.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.72, a P/E/G ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 2.41. 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 fifty day moving average is $188.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $222.36.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $25.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.64 billion. Tesla had a return on equity of 16.62% and a net margin of 15.50%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.07 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Tesla news, SVP Andrew D. Baglino sold 10,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.17, for a total value of $2,143,785.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 31,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,376,229.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 93,705 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.44, for a total value of $16,439,605.20. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,631,600. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Andrew D. Baglino sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.17, for a total transaction of $2,143,785.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,230 shares in the company, valued at $6,376,229.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 198,598 shares of company stock worth $36,952,434 in the last 90 days. 20.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Tesla

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Tesla in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Wyrmwood Management LLC bought a new position in Tesla in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Lam Group Inc. bought a new position in Tesla in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Halpern Financial Inc. grew its stake in Tesla by 1,111.1% in the 3rd quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. now owns 109 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alpha Paradigm Partners LLC bought a new position in Tesla in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. 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.