Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Stock Price Up 4.2% Following Analyst Upgrade

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) was up 4.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $350.00 to $360.00. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Tesla traded as high as $449.50 and last traded at $449.36. Approximately 70,674,437 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 9% from the average daily volume of 65,026,313 shares. The stock had previously closed at $431.44.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Dbs Bank raised Tesla to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Melius Research set a $520.00 target price on shares of Tesla and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. HSBC reaffirmed a “reduce” rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Glj Research restated a “sell” rating and issued a $25.28 price objective (up previously from $19.05) on shares of Tesla in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Roth Mkm set a $505.00 target price on Tesla and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and eight have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $410.77.

Insider Activity at Tesla

In other news, Director James R. Murdoch sold 60,000 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $445.40, for a total transaction of $26,724,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 577,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $257,009,607.40. This trade represents a 9.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kimbal Musk sold 56,820 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.66, for a total value of $25,606,501.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,391,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $627,145,215.90. The trade was a 3.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 119,457 shares of company stock worth $53,501,145 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 19.90% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Tesla

Here are the key news stories impacting Tesla this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Tesla has begun offering unsupervised robotaxi rides in Austin and removed in‑car safety monitors for some vehicles — a tangible execution milestone that supports the long‑term robotaxi revenue and AI thesis. Tesla starts robotaxi rides without safety monitors in Austin
• Positive Sentiment: A partnership with Lemonade to offer steep insurance discounts for FSD miles gives third‑party validation to Tesla’s safety claims and could accelerate FSD adoption and monetization via subscriptions/licensing. Lemonade’s Tesla Deal Could Rewrite How Auto Insurance Is Priced
• Positive Sentiment: Operational proof points: a Tesla Model S reportedly completed a ~3,000‑mile trip using FSD without human intervention — a concrete data point investors cite when pricing in FSD upside. Tesla Model S Completes 3000-Mile Journey Using FSD without Human Intervention
• Neutral Sentiment: Tesla will report Q4 and full‑year 2025 results on Jan. 28; the company released an analyst consensus estimate of roughly $24.5B in revenue — earnings and margins (not top‑line) are likely to drive the next big move. Tesla Releases Analyst Estimates Ahead Of Q4 Earnings Call, Touts $24.5 Billion Revenue
• Neutral Sentiment: Options traders have priced attractive out‑of‑the‑money put premiums ahead of earnings — this implies market participants expect volatility or are hedging; it can amplify moves around the report. Tesla Inc Put Options Still Look Attractive To Short-Sellers Before Earnings Next Week
• Negative Sentiment: Tesla discontinued its basic Autopilot offering in the U.S. and Canada to steer customers to paid FSD (Musk says FSD prices will rise) — that could spur short‑term consumer pushback and slow new‑car demand while FSD adoption shifts to a subscription/higher‑price model. Tesla drops Autopilot feature in US and Canada
• Negative Sentiment: Product demand concerns: Cybertruck sales reportedly plunged ~48% in 2025, highlighting ongoing vehicle demand softness for a marquee product. Tesla Saw Cybertruck Sales Plunge 48% In 2025
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst stance remains mixed: Barclays reaffirmed an equal‑weight/neutral view and set a $360 target — a signal that some institutional coverage still views downside risk vs. current valuation. Barclays sticks with neutral/equal-weight on TSLA

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TSLA. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Tesla by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 252,386,304 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $112,241,237,000 after buying an additional 995,623 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Tesla by 0.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 113,762,849 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $50,592,614,000 after acquiring an additional 344,162 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Tesla by 2.0% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 64,767,993 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $20,480,477,000 after acquiring an additional 1,269,304 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Tesla by 5.8% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 44,035,949 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $19,583,547,000 after acquiring an additional 2,403,019 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Tesla during the second quarter valued at $11,839,824,000. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Tesla Stock Down 0.1%

The stock has a market cap of $1.49 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 299.37, a P/E/G ratio of 7.66 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $444.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $403.25.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $28.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.98 billion. Tesla had a net margin of 5.51% and a return on equity of 6.61%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Tesla Company Profile

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.