Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Stock Price Up 2.6% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) rose 2.6% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $383.14 and last traded at $381.26. Approximately 57,842,284 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 6% from the average daily volume of 61,579,992 shares. The stock had previously closed at $371.75.

Key Headlines Impacting Tesla

Here are the key news stories impacting Tesla this week:

• Positive Sentiment: European sales rebound: March registrations in France more than tripled and Spain, the Nordics and other markets showed sizable gains, providing early evidence that Tesla’s regional sales are recovering after last year’s weakness. Tesla French car registrations triple in March
• Positive Sentiment: Autonomy/robotaxi narrative remains a bullish long?term driver: analysts and feature pieces highlight Elon Musk’s reframing of Tesla as an autonomy/robotaxi play (Cybercab/robotaxi economics), which underpins upside scenarios and bullish multi?year price targets for TSLA. Tesla’s Path to $1,000 Per Share Runs Through the Autonomous Vehicle Boom
• Neutral Sentiment: Delivery update in focus: investors are positioning ahead of Tesla’s Q1 delivery update — some commentators urge not to abandon the EV thesis despite short?term softness, so the report is acting as a catalyst but results are uncertain. Tesla’s delivery update is on deck. Why investors shouldn’t abandon an ‘unwavering belief’ in EVs.
• Neutral Sentiment: Broad market tailwinds: intraday gains are also tracking a wider market rally that’s helped lift large tech names, supporting TSLA in the near term. Tesla stock is surging 2.5% ahead Q1 sales data: what to expect
• Negative Sentiment: Delivery headwinds possible: multiple outlets and analysts expect Q1 deliveries to dip sequentially amid uneven demand and intensifying competition — a weaker print would likely pressure the stock. Tesla Q1 deliveries likely dip sequentially as EV demand softens
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades and cuts: some firms have trimmed price targets or issued pessimistic ratings (including a recent Zacks “Strong Sell” note and other sell reiterations), which increases downside risk if fundamentals disappoint. Zacks Research
• Negative Sentiment: Strategic/product shifts raise questions: Elon Musk’s announcement to end Model S/X production (to prioritize robots/robotaxi programs) is being viewed as mixed — it reduces premium model sales near term and highlights a high?risk pivot to new businesses. End of an era: Elon Musk says Tesla is no longer producing the Model S and X

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on TSLA shares. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Tesla in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $460.00 price objective on the stock. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Tesla from $509.00 to $519.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and ten have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $403.98.

Tesla Trading Up 2.6%

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $405.61 and a 200 day moving average of $428.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market cap of $1.43 trillion, a PE ratio of 353.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.52 and a beta of 1.89.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.05. Tesla had a net margin of 4.00% and a return on equity of 4.86%. The company had revenue of $24.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.75 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.73 EPS. Tesla’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 25,731 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.56, for a total transaction of $10,692,774.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 19,669 shares in the company, valued at $8,173,649.64. The trade was a 56.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,264 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.03, for a total transaction of $898,875.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,106 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,188,625.18. The trade was a 11.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 87,995 shares of company stock valued at $38,315,650 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 19.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC grew its stake in shares of Tesla by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 6,558 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $2,916,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Equita Financial Network Inc. boosted its holdings in Tesla by 2.8% during the third quarter. Equita Financial Network Inc. now owns 855 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $380,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. VanderPol Investments L.L.C. grew its position in Tesla by 2.2% during the third quarter. VanderPol Investments L.L.C. now owns 1,070 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $464,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Tesla by 0.3% during the third quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,577 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $3,814,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Tesla by 1.1% in the third quarter. Cloud Capital Management LLC now owns 2,076 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $923,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.