Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Sees Large Volume Increase After Analyst Upgrade

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday after TD Cowen raised their price target on the stock from $160.00 to $180.00. TD Cowen currently has a hold rating on the stock. Approximately 38,140,691 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 60% from the previous session’s volume of 96,062,297 shares.The stock last traded at $238.53 and had previously closed at $231.26.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on TSLA. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Tesla from $126.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating 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 note on Wednesday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Tesla from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of Tesla in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $265.00 target price for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $189.47.

Insider Transactions at Tesla

In other news, SVP Xiaotong Zhu sold 650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.21, for a total value of $113,236.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 65,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,350,652.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 93,705 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.86, for a total value of $17,322,306.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,772,900. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Xiaotong Zhu sold 650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.21, for a total value of $113,236.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 65,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,350,652.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 20.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Holderness Investments Co. lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Tesla by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 10,554 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $2,622,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Cravens & Co Advisors LLC increased its position in Tesla by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cravens & Co Advisors LLC now owns 4,095 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $1,025,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN increased its position in Tesla by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 4,601 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $1,143,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caerus Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Tesla by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Caerus Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,395 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $3,577,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. 66.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Tesla Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $180.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $190.93. The company has a market capitalization of $785.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.91 and a beta of 2.31.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.35. Tesla had a return on equity of 13.18% and a net margin of 14.37%. The company had revenue of $21.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.15 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.