Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Trading 1.3% Higher – Still a Buy?

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares were up 1.3% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $452.39 and last traded at $445.18. Approximately 62,010,426 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 37% from the average daily volume of 99,023,508 shares. The stock had previously closed at $439.58.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TSLA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Tesla from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Tesla from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Monday, November 17th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Tesla from $341.00 to $471.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Tesla from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and nine have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $399.33.

Tesla Stock Up 1.3%

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $434.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $373.57. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market cap of $1.48 trillion, a PE ratio of 296.79, a PEG ratio of 15.37 and a beta of 1.87.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $28.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.98 billion. Tesla had a return on equity of 6.61% and a net margin of 5.51%.Tesla’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Tesla

In other Tesla news, SVP Xiaotong Zhu sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $363.75, for a total transaction of $7,275,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 47,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,314,500. This trade represents a 29.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director James R. Murdoch sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $422.68, for a total transaction of $25,360,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 637,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $269,260,263.08. The trade was a 8.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 19.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Chapman Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Tesla in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Chelsea Counsel Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 59.7% in the first quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. now owns 107 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Tesla during the second quarter worth $29,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Tesla during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Tesla in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. 66.20% of the stock is 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.