Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Gap Up to $144.68

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $144.68, but opened at $162.84. Tesla shares last traded at $166.94, with a volume of 59,321,370 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on TSLA shares. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America raised shares of Tesla from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on Tesla from $234.00 to $222.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. HSBC lowered their price objective on shares of Tesla from $143.00 to $138.00 and set a “reduce” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, KGI Securities restated a “neutral” rating and set a $213.00 target price (down from $309.00) on shares of Tesla in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Tesla has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $186.81.

Tesla Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $512.15 billion, a PE ratio of 37.26, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 2.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $176.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $209.24.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts’ expectations of $25.64 billion. Tesla had a net margin of 15.50% and a return on equity of 16.62%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.07 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 1.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Tesla

In other Tesla news, SVP Xiaotong Zhu sold 687 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.11, for a total transaction of $121,674.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 63,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,188,215.81. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 93,706 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Xiaotong Zhu sold 687 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.11, for a total value of $121,674.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 63,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,188,215.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 209,098 shares of company stock worth $38,802,534. Company insiders own 20.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 1.0% in the third quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,353 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Holderness Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Tesla by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Holderness Investments Co. now owns 2,599 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $650,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Tesla by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,384 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $847,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. SCS Capital Management LLC increased its position in Tesla by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. SCS Capital Management LLC now owns 16,881 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $4,224,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Tesla by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 10,554 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $2,622,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by 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.