Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Stock Price Down 2.4% - Time to Sell?

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report)'s stock price fell 2.4% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $324.70 and last traded at $329.77. 34,700,705 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 53% from the average session volume of 74,176,313 shares. The stock had previously closed at $337.80.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on TSLA. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Tesla from $298.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Tesla from $195.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Tesla from $492.00 to $474.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Mizuho reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $515.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Glj Research reissued a "sell" rating and set a $24.86 price objective on shares of Tesla in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $318.77.

Tesla Price Performance

The firm's 50-day moving average price is $385.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $315.95. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $943.49 billion, a PE ratio of 143.79, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.34.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.08). Tesla had a net margin of 7.26% and a return on equity of 10.31%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Tesla

In related news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.43, for a total transaction of $2,481,010.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 105,032 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,226,491.76. This represents a 6.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.54, for a total transaction of $35,254,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,400 shares in the company, valued at $1,903,716. This represents a 94.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 523,386 shares of company stock worth $195,995,200. Insiders own 20.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tesla

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in Tesla by 79.5% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 70 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. increased 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 during the period. GS Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Tesla by 193.3% during the fourth quarter. GS Investments Inc. now owns 88 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in Tesla during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Tesla during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.