Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $213.65, but opened at $244.68. Tesla shares last traded at $248.94, with a volume of 43,156,824 shares.

The electric vehicle producer reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.14. Tesla had a return on equity of 10.41% and a net margin of 13.00%. The firm had revenue of $25.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.53 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on TSLA. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $295.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. William Blair initiated coverage on Tesla in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Tesla from $274.00 to $258.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Tesla from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $219.00.

Insider Transactions at Tesla

In other news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $2,000,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 105,032 shares in the company, valued at $26,258,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $2,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 105,032 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,258,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Xiaotong Zhu sold 297 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.77, for a total value of $65,865.69. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 67,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,967,479.07. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 20.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tesla

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in Tesla in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Clean Yield Group increased its stake in Tesla by 60.0% in the third quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 128 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Tesla by 168.8% during the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new stake in Tesla in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, M&R Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Tesla by 263.2% in the 3rd quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 138 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.20% of the company’s stock.

Tesla Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $859.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.97, a P/E/G ratio of 6.24 and a beta of 2.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $229.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $206.79.

About Tesla

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.