Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Stock Price Down 1.6% on Insider Selling

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report)'s stock price fell 1.6% during trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $170.15 and last traded at $174.90. 35,289,943 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 103,297,234 shares. The stock had previously closed at $177.81.

Specifically, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 93,705 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.86, for a total value of $17,322,306.30. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,772,900. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 93,705 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.86, for a total value of $17,322,306.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,772,900. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Andrew D. Baglino sold 10,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.20, for a total transaction of $1,850,100.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,230 shares in the company, valued at $5,502,726. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 302,803 shares of company stock valued at $56,124,840 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 20.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TSLA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Tesla from $123.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Tesla from $160.00 to $147.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Tesla from $320.00 to $310.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Tesla from $294.00 to $293.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Tesla from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $185.90.

Tesla Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.72. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $173.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $204.32. The company has a market cap of $557.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 2.41.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its position in Tesla by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,711,536 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $300,870,000 after purchasing an additional 44,817 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Tesla in the first quarter worth $1,941,000. Berkshire Money Management Inc. bought a new stake in Tesla in the first quarter valued at $264,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Tesla in the 1st quarter worth $126,000. Finally, Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Tesla by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 5,681 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $999,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 66.20% 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.