Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Up 3.3% – Still a Buy?

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares traded up 3.3% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $417.46 and last traded at $417.26. 44,472,494 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 29% from the average session volume of 62,202,086 shares. The stock had previously closed at $404.11.

Trending Headlines about Tesla

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on TSLA shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Tesla from $352.00 to $364.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $508.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Barclays reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Tesla presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $395.20.

Tesla Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $387.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $416.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.62. The stock has a market cap of $1.60 trillion, a P/E ratio of 390.83, a PEG ratio of 16.48 and a beta of 1.79.

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 firm had revenue of $22.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.96 billion. Tesla had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 4.89%. Tesla’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.27 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Tesla, Inc. will post 1.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 26,409 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 48,399 shares in the company, valued at $18,300,145.89. This trade represents a 35.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 dated 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 $8,147,700. This trade 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 83,213 shares of company stock valued at $32,201,105 in the last three months. Insiders own 19.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Networth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Tesla in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Chapman Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Tesla in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Davidson Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Tesla by 79.4% in the fourth quarter. Davidson Capital Management Inc. now owns 61 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial increased its stake in Tesla by 66.7% during the first quarter. Friedenthal Financial now owns 75 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prism Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Tesla during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by 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.