Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Trading 3.3% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) rose 3.3% on Friday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $307.00 to $352.00. UBS Group currently has a sell rating on the stock. Tesla traded as high as $439.88 and last traded at $430.41. Approximately 82,226,694 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 29% from the average daily volume of 63,717,016 shares. The stock had previously closed at $416.56.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on TSLA. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Dbs Bank raised Tesla to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. CICC Research boosted their price target on Tesla from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. President Capital cut their target price on Tesla from $529.00 to $517.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Barclays reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and eight have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Tesla currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $409.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at Tesla

In related news, Director James R. Murdoch sold 60,000 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $445.40, for a total transaction of $26,724,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 577,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $257,009,607.40. The trade was a 9.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kimbal Musk sold 56,820 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.66, for a total transaction of $25,606,501.20. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,391,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $627,145,215.90. This trade represents a 3.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 119,457 shares of company stock valued at $53,501,145. Company insiders own 19.90% of the company’s stock.

Tesla News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Tesla this week:

• Positive Sentiment: SpaceX merger talk fuels optimism that Elon Musk could further consolidate his tech assets, a scenario investors view as value-accretive for Tesla (merger talk helped push TSLA higher). Tesla jumps as SpaceX merger talks fuel Musk empire consolidation hopes (Reuters)
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beats and clear robotaxi/FSD progress: Tesla topped EPS and revenue estimates, disclosed 1.1M active FSD subs and reiterated Cybercab/robotaxi production targets — evidence that software and services can offset weaker vehicle volume. Could Tesla’s Q4 Earnings Fuel the Next Rally? (MarketBeat)
• Positive Sentiment: Investment in xAI and AI positioning: Tesla disclosed a multi‑billion involvement with Musk’s xAI and is pushing chip/TeraFab plans — reinforcing the market view of Tesla as a “physical AI” play rather than a pure auto OEM. Tesla reveals $2 billion investment in Elon Musk’s xAI (Fortune)
• Neutral Sentiment: Model S/X discontinuation and factory retooling — strategic for long‑term robotics capacity but implies short-term restructuring and transition risk; impact depends on execution and timing. Tesla Kills Legacy Models: Analyst Response Is Meh (MarketBeat)
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst reactions and target churn — some firms raised targets on the AI/robotics story while others trimmed them, leaving consensus sentiment split and volatility likely to persist.
• Negative Sentiment: Massive capex and cash‑burn risk: management guided to >$20B capex to reshuffle factories for robots, Cybercab and batteries — a heavy near‑term cash demand that could pressure margins and free cash flow. Tesla plans $20 billion capital spending spree (Reuters)
• Negative Sentiment: First annual revenue decline and softer vehicle deliveries raise near‑term execution concerns — investors worry Optimus/robotaxi revenue is far out and that margins could be pressured during the transition.
• Negative Sentiment: Notable bearish analyst moves (e.g., JPMorgan cut to underweight with a $145 target) increase downside headline risk and may cap rallies until clarity on capex pacing and robot/robotaxi ramps arrives.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tesla

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Tesla by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 87,929 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $35,509,000 after purchasing an additional 9,293 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Tesla by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,317 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $2,147,000 after acquiring an additional 931 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Tesla by 52.2% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 10,368 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $4,187,000 after acquiring an additional 3,558 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Tesla by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 12,135 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $3,855,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011 shares during the period. Finally, AGP Franklin LLC grew its holdings in shares of Tesla by 21.2% during the 2nd quarter. AGP Franklin LLC now owns 4,861 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $1,544,000 after acquiring an additional 851 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.20% of the company’s stock.

Tesla Trading Up 3.3%

The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $447.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $408.17. The stock has a market cap of $1.43 trillion, a P/E ratio of 398.53, a PEG ratio of 7.11 and a beta of 1.83.

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