Calton & Associates Inc. Increases Stock Position in Tesla, Inc. $TSLA

Key Points

• Calton & Associates Inc. increased its stake in Tesla by 294.6%, purchasing an additional 2,987 shares, bringing its total ownership to 4,001 shares worth approximately $1,037,000.
• Tesla's stock opened at $333.87 and has a market capitalization of $1.08 trillion, despite reporting a revenue decline of 11.8% year-over-year.
• Insider trading has shown significant selling activity, with Director James R. Murdoch selling 120,000 shares valued at over $42 million, indicating a 14.69% decrease in ownership.

Calton & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Free Report) by 294.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,001 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock after purchasing an additional 2,987 shares during the period. Calton & Associates Inc.'s holdings in Tesla were worth $1,037,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Tesla by 86.3% during the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 95 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. First PREMIER Bank increased its position in shares of Tesla by 79.2% during the first quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 95 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Newton One Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Tesla by 250.0% during the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 105 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI bought a new stake in shares of Tesla during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Centennial Bank AR increased its position in shares of Tesla by 833.3% during the first quarter. Centennial Bank AR now owns 112 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and set a $475.00 price target (up previously from $350.00) on shares of Tesla in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Tesla from $303.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. HSBC restated a "reduce" rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Baird R W cut shares of Tesla from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Thursday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and nine have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $303.31.

Insider Activity at Tesla

In related news, SVP Xiaotong Zhu sold 15,000 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.81, for a total transaction of $4,857,150.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 67,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,889,556. The trade was a 18.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director James R. Murdoch sold 120,000 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.29, for a total transaction of $42,034,800.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 697,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $244,162,988.99. This trade represents a 14.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 143,564 shares of company stock worth $49,396,070. 20.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Tesla Price Performance

NASDAQ:TSLA traded up $4.73 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $334.09. 88,423,670 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 103,650,383. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Tesla, Inc. has a 1 year low of $210.51 and a 1 year high of $488.54. The company has a market cap of $1.08 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 193.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.61 and a beta of 2.06. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $323.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $302.58.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.03). Tesla had a net margin of 6.54% and a return on equity of 7.98%. The firm had revenue of $22.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. Tesla's revenue for the quarter was down 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.