Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Stock Price Down 0.5% After Insider Selling

Shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) were down 0.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $273.76 and last traded at $274.08. Approximately 21,829,663 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 95,546,386 shares. The stock had previously closed at $275.35.

Specifically, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.40, for a total value of $1,137,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 26,950 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,664,580. The trade was a 12.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 112,390 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.58, for a total transaction of $32,096,336.20. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 85,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,274,300. The trade was a 56.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TSLA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a "mixed" rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Tesla from $370.00 to $320.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Tesla from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Tesla from $490.00 to $380.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Argus set a $410.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Tesla presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $287.46.

Tesla Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.02. The stock has a market cap of $881.82 billion, a PE ratio of 133.93, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.43. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $258.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $325.98.

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 net margin of 7.26% and a return on equity of 10.31%. The firm had revenue of $19.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Tesla

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of TSLA. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Tesla by 75.6% during the fourth quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. GS Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Tesla by 193.3% during the 4th quarter. GS Investments Inc. now owns 88 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Navigoe LLC acquired a new stake in Tesla in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Tesla in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. 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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