Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Sells 6,988 Shares of Tesla, Inc. $TSLA

Key Points

• Clark Capital Management Group Inc. reduced its stake in Tesla by 8.6%, selling 6,988 shares during the first quarter, leaving them with a total of 74,230 shares valued at approximately $19.2 million.
• Several institutional investors significantly increased their positions in Tesla, with Goldman Sachs boosting its stake by 322.1% and GAMMA Investing LLC increasing theirs by a staggering 27,378.6%.
• Despite Tesla's stock opening at $338.53, the company recently reported earnings that missed analysts' expectations, with a net margin of 6.54% and revenue down 11.8% year-over-year.

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Free Report) by 8.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 74,230 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock after selling 6,988 shares during the quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc.'s holdings in Tesla were worth $19,237,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in TSLA. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Tesla by 322.1% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 26,590,525 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $6,891,201,000 after purchasing an additional 20,291,139 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Tesla during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,247,619,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Tesla by 27,378.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,812,316 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $2,542,960,000 after purchasing an additional 9,776,607 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 29.4% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 16,771,882 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $4,482,789,000 after purchasing an additional 3,814,610 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Tesla by 1.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 246,887,705 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $63,983,418,000 after buying an additional 3,694,524 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.20% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 4,000 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 5,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,735,080.36. The trade was a 40.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director James R. Murdoch sold 120,000 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 697,031 shares of the company's stock, valued at $244,162,988.99. This represents a 14.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 143,564 shares of company stock valued at $49,396,070 in the last three months. Company insiders own 20.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho lowered their price target on Tesla from $390.00 to $375.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of Tesla from $303.00 to $333.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a report on Monday, August 4th. Argus reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, HSBC reiterated a "reduce" rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and nine have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $303.31.

Tesla Stock Up 1.3%

Tesla stock opened at $338.53 on Friday. Tesla, Inc. has a twelve month low of $210.51 and a twelve month high of $488.54. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $323.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $302.67. The company has a market capitalization of $1.09 trillion, a P/E ratio of 195.68, a P/E/G ratio of 11.66 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.

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

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.

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