Centerstone Investors LLC Takes $777,000 Position in Tesla, Inc. $TSLA

Key Points

• Centerstone Investors LLC has made a new investment of $777,000 in Tesla, Inc., acquiring 3,000 shares which now represent 1.8% of its total holdings.
• Insider selling has occurred with significant transactions, including SVP Xiaotong Zhu selling 15,000 shares and Director James R. Murdoch selling 120,000 shares, indicating a decrease in their positions.
• Tesla's recent quarterly earnings report revealed a net income miss, with earnings per share of $0.40, falling short of the consensus estimate of $0.43.

Centerstone Investors LLC purchased a new stake in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,000 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock, valued at approximately $777,000. Tesla accounts for about 1.8% of Centerstone Investors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Acorn Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Tesla by 1.9% in the first quarter. Acorn Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,901 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $493,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Solutions 4 Wealth Ltd lifted its stake in Tesla by 2.0% in the first quarter. Solutions 4 Wealth Ltd now owns 1,815 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $470,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Capital Management Associates Inc lifted its stake in Tesla by 3.4% in the first quarter. Capital Management Associates Inc now owns 1,166 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Graney & King LLC raised its position in shares of Tesla by 18.4% during the first quarter. Graney & King LLC now owns 245 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of Tesla by 3.8% during the first quarter. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. now owns 1,054 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. 66.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Tesla

In other Tesla news, SVP Xiaotong Zhu sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $323.81, for a total value of $4,857,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 67,600 shares in the company, valued at $21,889,556. This represents a 18.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.89, for a total value of $1,171,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 5,924 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,735,080.36. This trade represents a 40.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 143,564 shares of company stock worth $49,396,070 in the last quarter. 20.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Tesla Stock Up 3.6%

NASDAQ TSLA traded up $12.31 on Friday, reaching $350.84. The company had a trading volume of 108,740,568 shares, compared to its average volume of 72,012,552. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.13 trillion, a P/E ratio of 202.80, a P/E/G ratio of 12.24 and a beta of 2.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company's fifty day moving average is $324.00 and its 200 day moving average is $302.25. Tesla, Inc. has a 52-week low of $210.51 and a 52-week high of $488.54.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Bank of America upped their target price on Tesla from $305.00 to $341.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. William Blair reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Friday. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "sell" rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and nine have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Tesla presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $303.31.

Tesla 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.