Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Down 4.5% - Should You Sell?

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 4.5% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $320.40 and last traded at $325.14. Approximately 57,244,100 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 44% from the average daily volume of 101,561,608 shares. The stock had previously closed at $340.47.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the company. BNP Paribas set a $137.00 price objective on Tesla and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer reissued a "mixed" rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Baird R W lowered shares of Tesla from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $410.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $294.58.

Tesla Trading Down 3.9%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 179.84, a PEG ratio of 13.04 and a beta of 2.47. The business's 50-day moving average is $309.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $331.48.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.26). Tesla had a return on equity of 9.02% and a net margin of 6.66%. The firm had revenue of $19.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.45 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Tesla

In other Tesla news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 26,950 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,737,500. This represents a 12.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Xiaotong Zhu sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $323.81, for a total transaction of $4,857,150.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 67,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,889,556. This trade represents a 18.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 833,509 shares of company stock worth $278,648,925 in the last 90 days. 20.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TSLA. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Tesla by 86.3% in the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 95 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. First PREMIER Bank increased its holdings in shares of Tesla by 79.2% in the 1st quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 95 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Newton One Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Tesla by 250.0% in the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 105 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI purchased a new stake in Tesla during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in Tesla by 79.5% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 70 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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