Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Trading 2% Higher – Should You Buy?

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares traded up 2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $431.51 and last traded at $426.01. 45,679,799 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 26% from the average session volume of 61,842,867 shares. The stock had previously closed at $417.85.

Key Tesla News

Here are the key news stories impacting Tesla this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Tesla’s Full Self-Driving rollout in China and subscription-based FSD availability in Europe bolster the case that autonomy could become a bigger growth driver. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts and commentators continue to frame Tesla as a robotics and AI company, with bullish chatter around Optimus and the company’s long-term pivot away from being just an automaker. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: SpaceX’s IPO has dominated investor attention, and while it highlights Musk’s ecosystem, the market is debating whether it will ultimately help Tesla or distract capital and attention away from TSLA. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported Tesla is recalling 14,575 Model Y SUVs in the U.S. over a missing weight certification label, adding another quality-control issue to the stock’s recent concerns. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Several articles warn that Tesla’s valuation remains stretched and that FSD still faces execution questions, with critics saying the technology is not yet ready to justify the stock’s premium. Article Title

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Tesla from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Phillip Securities lowered their price objective on Tesla from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Tigress Financial assumed coverage on Tesla in a research report on Monday, April 27th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Zacks Research upgraded Tesla from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $508.00 price objective on Tesla in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $395.20.

Tesla Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.60 trillion, a P/E ratio of 390.83, a P/E/G ratio of 16.82 and a beta of 1.79. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $387.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $416.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.62.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $22.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.96 billion. Tesla had a return on equity of 4.89% and a net margin of 3.95%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.27 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Tesla, Inc. will post 1.2 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Tesla news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 3,000 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $1,350,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,106 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,147,700. The trade was a 14.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 26,409 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.11, for a total value of $9,985,506.99. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 48,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,300,145.89. The trade was a 35.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 83,213 shares of company stock valued at $32,201,105. 19.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of TSLA. Networth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Tesla during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Chapman Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Tesla during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Davidson Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Tesla by 79.4% during the fourth quarter. Davidson Capital Management Inc. now owns 61 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial increased its holdings in shares of Tesla by 66.7% during the first quarter. Friedenthal Financial now owns 75 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prism Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Tesla during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 66.20% of the company’s stock.

Tesla Company Profile

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.