Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Down 1.2% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Tesla's stock price fell by 1.2% to last trade at $321.71, with trading volume down by 72% from the average.
• Analysts have varied opinions on Tesla, with a median target price of $303.31 and a consensus rating of "Hold".
• Insider selling has been notable, with CFO Vaibhav Taneja and Director Kimbal Musk reducing their shares, indicating a 25.24% and 5.89% decrease in their holdings, respectively.

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 1.2% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $318.25 and last traded at $321.71. Approximately 30,172,369 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 107,955,055 shares. The stock had previously closed at $325.59.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and set a $475.00 target price (up from $350.00) on shares of Tesla in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a research note on Monday, June 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Tesla from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. William Blair cut shares of Tesla from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Argus reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Tesla presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $303.31.

Tesla Stock Down 0.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $324.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $313.04. The company has a market capitalization of $1.04 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 186.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.93 and a beta of 2.39.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $22.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.18 billion. Tesla had a return on equity of 7.98% and a net margin of 6.54%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Tesla news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $600,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 5,924 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,777,200. This represents a 25.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kimbal Musk sold 91,588 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $357.39, for a total transaction of $32,732,635.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,463,220 shares in the company, valued at $522,940,195.80. This trade represents a 5.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 723,119 shares of company stock worth $247,324,149 over the last three months. 20.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of TSLA. Spirit of America Management Corp NY raised its holdings in Tesla by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 3,825 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $1,215,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Tesla by 24.9% in the 2nd quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 13,469 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $4,279,000 after acquiring an additional 2,684 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Tesla by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Manchester Financial Inc. now owns 5,737 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $1,822,000 after acquiring an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Tesla by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 19,537 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $6,206,000 after acquiring an additional 651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Tesla by 18.3% in the 2nd quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 868 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $276,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.20% of the company's stock.

Tesla Company 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.

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