Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $315.35, but opened at $291.37. Tesla shares last traded at $293.63, with a volume of 25,228,108 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $475.00 target price (up from $350.00) on shares of Tesla in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Roth Mkm decreased their target price on shares of Tesla from $450.00 to $395.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a research report on Tuesday. Cfra Research lowered Tesla from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "sell" rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a research note on Tuesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $301.13.

Tesla Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $954.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 162.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.57 and a beta of 2.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 2.00. The firm's 50 day moving average is $321.21 and its 200-day moving average is $323.29.

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

Insider Transactions at Tesla

In other Tesla news, SVP Xiaotong Zhu sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.81, for a total value of $4,857,150.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 67,600 shares in the company, valued at $21,889,556. This trade represents a 18.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $341.02, for a total transaction of $2,046,120.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,950 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $664,989. The trade was a 75.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 829,509 shares of company stock worth $277,648,925. 20.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Tesla by 86.3% during the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 95 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. First PREMIER Bank grew its holdings in Tesla by 79.2% during the 1st quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 95 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Newton One Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Tesla by 250.0% during the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 105 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI purchased a new position in shares of Tesla in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in shares of Tesla by 79.5% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 70 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.