Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Down 3.2% - Here's Why

Shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) traded down 3.2% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $412.66 and last traded at $414.59. 27,683,978 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 76,062,891 shares. The stock had previously closed at $428.22.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on TSLA shares. Bank of America lowered Tesla from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $400.00 to $490.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Tesla from $249.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Tesla from $270.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Tesla from $310.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Tesla from $254.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Tesla currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $299.33.

Tesla Stock Down 3.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.33 trillion, a PE ratio of 113.38, a P/E/G ratio of 6.53 and a beta of 2.30. The business's 50 day moving average price is $385.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $285.69.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.14. Tesla had a return on equity of 10.24% and a net margin of 13.07%. The firm had revenue of $25.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.53 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 4,000 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $1,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 105,032 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,258,000. This trade represents a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kimbal Musk sold 60,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.23, for a total value of $15,138,915.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,563,220 shares in the company, valued at approximately $391,164,540.60. This trade represents a 3.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 621,886 shares of company stock valued at $213,451,751. 20.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tesla

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Tesla by 1,248.9% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 199,229 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $52,124,000 after acquiring an additional 184,459 shares in the last quarter. Destination Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Tesla by 12.1% during the third quarter. Destination Wealth Management now owns 12,597 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $3,296,000 after purchasing an additional 1,359 shares in the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in Tesla by 59.2% in the third quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 117,457 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $30,593,000 after buying an additional 43,685 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC raised its stake in Tesla by 3.3% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 309,382 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $80,944,000 after buying an additional 9,919 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Tesla by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 144,482 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $37,801,000 after buying an additional 1,741 shares during the last quarter. 66.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.