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

Shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) fell 2.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $380.02 and last traded at $382.40. 21,237,301 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 73,099,727 shares. The stock had previously closed at $392.21.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Tesla from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America lowered Tesla from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $400.00 to $490.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Tesla from $254.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Tesla from $226.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Tesla from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $322.29.

Tesla Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $407.94 and a 200-day moving average of $302.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.16 trillion, a P/E ratio of 177.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.79 and a beta of 2.34. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 7.26% and a return on equity of 10.31%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Tesla in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Tesla in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA purchased a new position in shares of Tesla during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. PayPay Securities Corp lifted its stake in shares of Tesla by 130.2% in the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 122 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Tesla during the fourth quarter valued at $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.