12,814 Shares in Tesla, Inc. $TSLA Bought by Seek First Inc.

Key Points

• Seek First Inc. has acquired a new stake in Tesla, Inc. worth approximately $3.32 million, making it the investor's 9th largest position.
• Tesla recently reported a quarterly earnings miss, with earnings per share of $0.40, falling short of the consensus estimate of $0.43.
• Insider transactions revealed that directors sold a significant number of shares, including a major transaction by Director Ira Matthew Ehrenpreis, who sold over 477,000 shares valued at approximately $170.6 million.

Seek First Inc. bought a new position in shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 12,814 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock, valued at approximately $3,321,000. Tesla makes up 2.9% of Seek First Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of TSLA. CacheTech Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Tesla by 23.9% in the 1st quarter. CacheTech Inc. now owns 12,099 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $3,134,000 after acquiring an additional 2,336 shares during the period. Corient IA LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Tesla in the 1st quarter worth approximately $777,000. Ethos Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Tesla by 132.9% in the 1st quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 11,612 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $3,009,000 after acquiring an additional 6,626 shares during the period. LeConte Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Tesla in the 1st quarter worth approximately $590,000. Finally, Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Tesla by 518.2% in the 1st quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 1,700 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $440,000 after acquiring an additional 1,425 shares during the period. 66.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Tesla Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of TSLA stock traded down $5.2010 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $324.1090. 73,265,967 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 105,232,750. Tesla, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $202.59 and a fifty-two week high of $488.54. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $321.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $304.26. 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 stock has a market cap of $1.05 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 187.35, a PEG ratio of 11.65 and a beta of 2.33.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Baird R W cut Tesla from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Tesla from $303.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Cfra Research cut Tesla from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Daiwa Capital Markets reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Sunday, July 27th. Finally, Argus reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Monday, June 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and nine have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Tesla has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $303.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ira Matthew Ehrenpreis sold 477,572 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $357.30, for a total transaction of $170,636,475.60. Following the sale, the director owned 855,394 shares in the company, valued at $305,632,276.20. This trade represents a 35.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $600,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 5,924 shares in the company, valued at $1,777,200. This trade represents a 25.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 599,724 shares of company stock worth $213,126,501 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 20.70% 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.