Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Stock Price Down 3.3% on Insider Selling

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s stock price traded down 3.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $363.18 and last traded at $365.71. 34,514,329 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 53% from the average session volume of 72,884,664 shares. The stock had previously closed at $378.17.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on TSLA shares. New Street Research upgraded shares of Tesla from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Tesla from $480.00 to $440.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Tesla from $315.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Tesla from $295.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen 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 has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $318.31.

Tesla Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.18 trillion, a P/E ratio of 179.27, a P/E/G ratio of 6.79 and a beta of 2.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $407.11 and a 200 day moving average of $302.26.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.66 earnings per share 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 predict that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.82 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Tesla

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Tesla by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 105,856 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $42,749,000 after buying an additional 9,840 shares in the last quarter. Resolute Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Tesla in the 4th quarter worth approximately $342,000. Unified Investment Management acquired a new stake in Tesla during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Tesla by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,673 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $5,118,000 after buying an additional 548 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bravias Capital Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Tesla in the fourth quarter valued at $379,000. Institutional investors own 66.20% of the company’s stock.

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.