Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Up 2.6% – Should You Buy?

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares shot up 2.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $355.74 and last traded at $354.81. 29,930,946 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 44% from the average daily volume of 53,637,465 shares. The stock had previously closed at $345.82.

Key Stories Impacting Tesla

Here are the key news stories impacting Tesla this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Tesla is expanding its robotaxi operation beyond Austin and Miami, with longer service hours and a larger unsupervised fleet. State regulators have also approved permits for Tesla to operate robotaxis, supporting the company’s strategy to monetize autonomous driving. Tesla robotaxi expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Tesla is preparing an August Cybercab rollout beginning with employee rides, while Cybercab production has reportedly started. Investors view the vehicle and robotaxi network as potential long-term revenue opportunities not yet fully reflected in the stock. Cybercab rollout
• Positive Sentiment: Optimus humanoid robot production has reportedly begun at Tesla’s Fremont facility, and the company is installing additional robotics manufacturing lines. The development strengthens the long-term artificial-intelligence and automation narrative, although meaningful financial benefits may take time. Optimus production
• Positive Sentiment: Commercial truckmaker Einride expects to receive approximately 75 Tesla Semi trucks in 2026, with the remainder of its 500-truck order scheduled for 2027. The timeline provides evidence of commercial demand, though deliveries will be spread over several years. Einride Tesla Semi order
• Neutral Sentiment: Tesla announced a September 24 Semi event that could provide updates on autonomous trucking and production plans, making it a potential catalyst but offering no immediate earnings impact. Tesla Semi event
• Negative Sentiment: Tesla is voluntarily recalling about 3 million vehicles in China over door handles that may fail after severe crashes and inadequate driver-attention monitoring. The recall adds regulatory, cost and reputational risks to the company’s autonomy push. Tesla China recall
• Negative Sentiment: Criticism intensified after a vehicle using Tesla’s latest FSD software reportedly nearly drove into a train, renewing concerns about system reliability and the gap between supervised assistance and fully autonomous driving. Tesla FSD incident
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and investors continue to question Tesla’s valuation because weak margins and traditional EV risks are not easily reconciled with a price-to-earnings ratio above 300. Toyota’s rising electrified-vehicle volume and broader EV competition further challenge Tesla’s automotive leadership.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on TSLA shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Guggenheim initiated coverage on Tesla in a report on Monday, June 29th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $130.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Tesla in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $420.00 price target on Tesla in a research note on Monday, July 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, nineteen have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $401.74.

Tesla Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $360.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $385.15. The stock has a market cap of $1.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 322.92, a P/E/G ratio of 17.91 and a beta of 1.83.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $28.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.42 billion. Tesla had a net margin of 3.67% and a return on equity of 3.82%. The company’s revenue was up 25.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.33 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Tesla, Inc. will post 0.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,606 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.20, for a total value of $1,048,133.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 22,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,864,085.80. The trade was a 10.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Corporate insiders own 19.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in Tesla by 41,911.1% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,797,248,195 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $755,922,591,000 after purchasing an additional 1,792,970,163 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Tesla during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $17,128,100,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Tesla by 3,205.5% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 21,459,599 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $9,650,811,000 after buying an additional 20,810,386 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Tesla during the second quarter valued at approximately $8,535,612,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Tesla in the second quarter worth $6,083,630,000. Institutional investors own 66.20% of the company’s stock.

About Tesla

Tesla, Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) is an American company that designs, manufactures and sells electric vehicles, energy generation and energy storage products. Founded in 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, Tesla grew into a vertically integrated mobility and clean‑energy company with Elon Musk serving as its chief executive officer. The company’s stated mission is to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy, reflected in its combined focus on electric drivetrains, battery technology, renewable energy products and software.

Tesla’s automotive business includes a lineup of battery‑electric vehicles and related services.