Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Trading Down 3.5% – Time to Sell?

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) was down 3.5% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $272.59 and last traded at $278.19. Approximately 51,663,422 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 44% from the average daily volume of 91,657,482 shares. The stock had previously closed at $288.14.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Tesla from $430.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Tesla from $440.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of Tesla from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Tesla from $195.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Tesla from $492.00 to $474.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Tesla currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $318.34.

Tesla Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $881.52 billion, a PE ratio of 133.11, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.50. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $324.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $321.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.61.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.08). Tesla had a net margin of 7.26% and a return on equity of 10.31%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Tesla

In other Tesla news, Director James R. Murdoch sold 54,776 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.79, for a total transaction of $13,189,513.04. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 477,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,859,478.69. The trade was a 10.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.63, for a total value of $41,163,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,222,802. This represents a 94.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 477,228 shares of company stock valued at $166,849,043 in the last quarter. 20.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in Tesla by 79.5% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 70 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Horrell Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Tesla by 75.6% in the fourth quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. GS Investments Inc. increased its position in Tesla by 193.3% during the fourth quarter. GS Investments Inc. now owns 88 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in Tesla in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Tesla in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. 66.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.