Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Stock Price Down 2.5% on Insider Selling

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s stock price dropped 2.5% during trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $380.02 and last traded at $382.40. Approximately 21,237,301 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 73,099,727 shares. The stock had previously closed at $392.21.

Specifically, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $383.11, for a total value of $2,681,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 108,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,745,581.15. The trade was a 6.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 112,390 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.04, for a total transaction of $43,162,255.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 85,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,643,400. The trade was a 56.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Tesla from $226.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Tesla from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $365.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. KGI Securities upgraded Tesla from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $276.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Tesla from $195.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $322.29.

Tesla Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $407.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $302.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.16 trillion, a P/E ratio of 177.27, a PEG ratio of 6.79 and a beta of 2.34.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.08). Tesla had a return on equity of 10.31% and a net margin of 7.26%. Equities analysts expect that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of TSLA. Hengehold Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Tesla by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 1,347 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $544,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Advisors MI raised its stake in shares of Tesla by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI now owns 6,990 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $2,823,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Tesla by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 2,814 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $1,136,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Mount Vernon Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Tesla by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Mount Vernon Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,305 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $2,950,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vista Finance LLC lifted its stake in Tesla by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vista Finance LLC now owns 3,510 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.20% of the company’s stock.

Tesla Company Profile

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.