Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Down 3.9% on Insider Selling

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares dropped 3.9% during trading on Thursday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $264.40 and last traded at $268.19. Approximately 33,677,910 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 58% from the average daily volume of 80,441,977 shares. The stock had previously closed at $279.10.

Specifically, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.02, for a total value of $1,776,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 23,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,833,325.68. The trade was a 20.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 112,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.61, for a total transaction of $33,673,167.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 85,000 shares in the company, valued at $25,466,850. This represents a 56.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on TSLA. Morgan Stanley reissued a “top pick” rating and issued a $430.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Tesla from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wedbush set a $302.80 price objective on Tesla in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Roth Mkm upgraded Tesla from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $85.00 to $380.00 in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Tesla currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $313.15.

Tesla Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $863.81 billion, a PE ratio of 131.47, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The business has a 50-day moving average of $374.97 and a 200 day moving average of $318.13.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

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