Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Stock Price Up 1% – Should You Buy?

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) was up 1% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $436.89 and last traded at $435.80. Approximately 56,355,848 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 21% from the average daily volume of 71,681,055 shares. The stock had previously closed at $431.41.

Tesla News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Tesla this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Elon Musk defended Tesla’s planned ~$10B spend on Nvidia hardware, framing it as strategic for Tesla’s AI/robotaxi efforts — investors may view this as management committing resources to the company’s high‑margin AI/robotics opportunity. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: New Street Research and other bulls continue to express conviction (New Street boosted a price target to $600), providing buy‑side support that can lift the stock amid short‑term weakness. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Prominent holders (e.g., ARK/Cathie Wood) remain committed, which can stabilize demand from retail/ETF flows despite recent volatility. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually high January options volume shows traders positioning for big moves into Tesla’s late‑January earnings — this boosts near‑term volatility and can amplify both rallies and pullbacks. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Governance/proxy developments from the 2025 annual meeting (vote framing around control/strategy rather than just pay) are drawing investor attention but are not an immediate earnings fundamental. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Musk’s legal fight with OpenAI is moving closer to trial — a reputational/legal risk to monitor, but its direct impact on Tesla revenue is uncertain. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Nvidia’s Alpamayo and a broader Nvidia push into self‑driving AI have renewed concerns that Tesla’s FSD/robotaxi moat could be eroded faster than expected — that competitive threat pressured sentiment after CES announcements. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Tesla’s vehicle deliveries fell in 2025 and the company missed some Q4 delivery expectations, raising near‑term demand/execution concerns that analysts cite when trimming forecasts. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Several firms have cut or reiterated cautious ratings (Truist trimmed its PT to $439; UBS/JPMorgan/DZ Bank among skeptics), and extreme bearish commentary (Gordon Johnson raising a $25 target as a provocative bear stance) adds headline noise and volatility. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling by Director James Murdoch (60,000 shares) and new regulatory proposals (e.g., manual door‑release bill) create modest sentiment/regulatory headwinds. Read More. Read More.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on TSLA. Melius Research set a $520.00 price objective on shares of Tesla and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Tesla from $444.00 to $439.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Tesla from $482.00 to $551.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Melius assumed coverage on Tesla in a report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $520.00 target price for the company. Finally, President Capital cut their price target on Tesla from $529.00 to $517.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and nine have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Tesla has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $408.54.

Tesla Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $444.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $393.78. The company has a market capitalization of $1.45 trillion, a PE ratio of 290.53, a P/E/G ratio of 6.93 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.

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

Insider Transactions at Tesla

In related news, Director Kimbal Musk sold 56,820 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director directly owned 1,391,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $627,145,215.90. This trade represents a 3.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director James R. Murdoch sold 60,000 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director owned 577,031 shares in the company, valued at $257,009,607.40. This represents a 9.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 119,457 shares of company stock worth $53,501,145. 19.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Tesla

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. purchased a new position in Tesla during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Tesla in the third quarter worth $29,000. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX purchased a new position in shares of Tesla during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Tesla during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Chapman Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Tesla in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. 66.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.