Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday after Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on the stock from $123.00 to $136.00. The stock had previously closed at $144.68, but opened at $162.84. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft currently has a hold rating on the stock. Tesla shares last traded at $166.94, with a volume of 59,321,370 shares.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on TSLA. Truist Financial cut their target price on Tesla from $176.00 to $162.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Tesla from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $245.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $280.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Tesla from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Edward Jones downgraded Tesla from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Eight 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $186.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Tesla news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 93,706 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.73, for a total value of $18,247,369.38. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,920,950. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 93,706 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.73, for a total transaction of $18,247,369.38. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,920,950. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Andrew D. Baglino sold 10,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 209,098 shares of company stock valued at $38,802,534 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 25.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tesla

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TSLA. Wyrmwood Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Tesla during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Lam Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Tesla during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Tesla by 202.2% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Ogorek Anthony Joseph NY ADV boosted its position in shares of Tesla by 94.5% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A bought a new stake in shares of Tesla during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 66.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Tesla Stock Up 5.0 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market capitalization of $541.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 2.39. The company has a 50-day moving average of $175.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $208.64.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.03). Tesla had a net margin of 14.37% and a return on equity of 13.18%. The firm had revenue of $25.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.07 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Tesla, Inc. will post 1.97 EPS for the current 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.