Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Trading Up 4.6% Following Analyst Upgrade

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) traded up 4.6% during trading on Monday after Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded the stock from an underperform rating to an outperform rating. The company traded as high as $412.94 and last traded at $408.95. 49,144,286 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 18% from the average session volume of 60,221,113 shares. The stock had previously closed at $391.00.

TSLA has been the topic of a number of other research reports. HSBC assumed coverage on Tesla in a research report on Monday, April 27th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Barclays reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. China Renaissance decreased their target price on shares of Tesla from $382.00 to $372.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 27th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Tesla from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Tesla from $438.00 to $400.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Tesla presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $404.37.

Insider Activity at Tesla

In other news, 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 transaction of $9,985,506.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 48,399 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,300,145.89. The trade was a 35.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,147,700. This represents a 14.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 55,218 shares of company stock valued at $20,609,455 over the last quarter. 19.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Tesla

Here are the key news stories impacting Tesla this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Rising speculation around a possible SpaceX IPO and even a future merger with Tesla is boosting TSLA by increasing the perceived optionality of Elon Musk’s businesses. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Tesla’s May China sales reportedly rose 22.6%, with exports also surging, reinforcing that demand is improving in a key market. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Tesla filed a significant document with the Nevada Transportation Authority have fueled optimism about potential autonomous-driving or robotaxi-related developments. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple articles continue to debate Tesla’s valuation, with some framing the stock as expensive on a P/E basis while others argue the market is pricing in long-term autonomy, AI, and energy opportunities. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage of Tesla’s heavy involvement in the congressional stock-holdings discussion is notable, but it is not a fundamental business catalyst. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Bearish valuation commentary remains a headwind, with investors still focused on Tesla’s elevated multiple and the risk that enthusiasm around AI and autonomy may be ahead of execution. Article Title

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tesla

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TSLA. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co raised its holdings in Tesla by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 22,893 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $8,510,000 after acquiring an additional 1,121 shares in the last quarter. Wealthquest Corp raised its holdings in shares of Tesla by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Wealthquest Corp now owns 2,480 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $922,000 after buying an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Stillwater Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Tesla during the 1st quarter worth $244,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Tesla by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 391,865 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $142,762,000 after buying an additional 7,243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Nebraska Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Tesla during the 1st quarter worth $423,000. 66.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Tesla Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 2.04. The company has a market cap of $1.54 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 375.18, a PEG ratio of 15.44 and a beta of 1.80. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $395.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $416.11.

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

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.