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

Shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) gapped up prior to trading 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on TSLA. China Renaissance initiated coverage on Tesla in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Tesla from $294.00 to $293.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Tesla from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $189.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Wednesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $186.81.

Tesla Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $512.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 2.39. The business has a fifty day moving average of $176.81 and a 200-day moving average of $209.24.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.03). Tesla had a return on equity of 16.62% and a net margin of 15.50%. The business had revenue of $25.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.07 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 1.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Tesla

In other news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 93,705 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.44, for a total value of $16,439,605.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,631,600. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 93,705 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.44, for a total transaction of $16,439,605.20. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,631,600. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Andrew D. Baglino sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.20, for a total value of $1,850,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 31,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,502,726. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 209,098 shares of company stock worth $38,802,534 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 20.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wyrmwood Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Tesla in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Lam Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Tesla in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Tesla by 202.2% during the 4th quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 136 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Ogorek Anthony Joseph NY ADV boosted its stake in shares of Tesla by 94.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ogorek Anthony Joseph NY ADV now owns 142 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A acquired a new position in shares of Tesla in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. 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.