Insider Selling: Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Director Sells 60,000 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• James Murdoch, a Tesla director, sold 60,000 shares on Jan. 2 at an average price of $445.40 for about $26.7 million, cutting his stake by 9.42% to 577,031 shares, according to an SEC filing.
• Tesla shares traded down to $432.96 on heavy volume as investors weigh a quarterly beat in EPS and revenue against a second consecutive annual delivery decline, valuation concerns and intensifying competition.

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) Director James Murdoch sold 60,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $445.40, for a total value of $26,724,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 577,031 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $257,009,607.40. This trade represents a 9.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Tesla Price Performance

Tesla stock traded down $18.71 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $432.96. 88,714,269 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 80,715,016. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $445.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $392.74. Tesla, Inc. has a 1 year low of $214.25 and a 1 year high of $498.83. The company has a market capitalization of $1.44 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 288.64, a P/E/G ratio of 7.02 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 2.07.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $28.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.98 billion. Tesla had a net margin of 5.51% and a return on equity of 6.61%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC boosted its position in shares of Tesla by 0.4% in the third quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 6,558 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $2,916,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Equita Financial Network Inc. lifted its position in Tesla by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Equita Financial Network Inc. now owns 855 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $380,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. VanderPol Investments L.L.C. boosted its holdings in Tesla by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. VanderPol Investments L.L.C. now owns 1,070 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $464,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Tesla by 0.3% in the third quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,577 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $3,814,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Tesla by 1.1% during the third quarter. Cloud Capital Management LLC now owns 2,076 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $923,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.20% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Tesla

Here are the key news stories impacting Tesla this week:

• Positive Sentiment: New Street Research raised its price target to $600 and reiterated a Buy, signaling some analysts still see substantial upside if Tesla executes on AI/energy opportunities. New Street raises PT to $600
• Positive Sentiment: Tesla showed pockets of strength in some European markets (notably Norway), where December registrations improved — a localized bright spot investors may view as evidence the company can stabilize share in select markets. Is Norway the silver lining?
• Positive Sentiment: Independent tests highlighted positive real‑world results for Tesla’s FSD in South Korea, which supports the narrative that its software remains a competitive asset. FSD praised in South Korea
• Neutral Sentiment: MarketBeat’s tactical note frames today’s weakness as a short‑term pullback ahead of January earnings — two clear trading paths exist: “buy the dip” or wait for post‑earnings confirmation. That makes earnings the near‑term catalyst investors are watching. 2 ways to trade Tesla
• Neutral Sentiment: Tesla’s Shanghai plant posted a December rebound, but full‑year China shipments still declined — the month‑end bounce reduces immediate downside risk but leaves the full‑year China story mixed. China rebound but full‑year weakness
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple headlines highlight intensifying competition from Nvidia (Alpamayo) and other players pushing accessible autonomous platforms — investors fear Tesla’s self‑driving lead could erode over the next several years. Nvidia targets robotaxis
• Negative Sentiment: Tesla reported its second consecutive annual decline in deliveries (Q4 deliveries missed estimates), renewing concerns about market share loss to lower‑priced rivals (e.g., BYD) and pricing/incentive pressures. That delivery miss is a primary driver of intraday selling. China sales dip despite December
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/branding hiccup: Tesla was unable to secure the “Cybercab” trademark, a small but symbolic setback that spooked some product‑announcement expectations. Cybercab trademark unavailable
• Negative Sentiment: Several sell or reiterate‑sell ratings (UBS, JPMorgan, DZ Bank, HSBC) and critical commentary on valuation increase downside pressure; UBS and others kept low price targets that are well below current levels. UBS reiterates sell

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on TSLA shares. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Tesla from $482.00 to $551.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised Tesla from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. Melius assumed coverage on shares of Tesla in a research note on Monday, October 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $520.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Tesla from $374.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and nine have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $408.36.

Tesla Company Profile

Tesla, Inc NASDAQ: TSLA is an American company that designs, manufactures and sells electric vehicles, energy generation and energy storage products. Founded in 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, Tesla grew into a vertically integrated mobility and clean‑energy company with Elon Musk serving as its chief executive officer. The company's stated mission is to accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy, reflected in its combined focus on electric drivetrains, battery technology, renewable energy products and software.

Tesla's automotive business includes a lineup of battery‑electric vehicles and related services.

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