Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Stock Price Down 4.4% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Tesla's stock price fell by 4.4%, closing at $423.39, following a decline from the previous close of $442.79.
• Analysts have mixed views on Tesla; while Baird R W upgraded it to a strong-buy, HSBC maintained a reduce rating, highlighting differing market expectations.
• Recent insider trading activities included a significant sale of 120,000 shares by Director James R. Murdoch, decreasing his ownership by 14.69%.

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 4.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $419.08 and last traded at $423.39. Approximately 95,946,684 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 7% from the average daily volume of 103,169,516 shares. The stock had previously closed at $442.79.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TSLA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Baird R W raised Tesla from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Dbs Bank lifted their price objective on Tesla from $300.00 to $450.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. HSBC reissued a "reduce" rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $475.00 price objective (up previously from $350.00) on shares of Tesla in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $410.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a report on Friday, September 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and nine have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $326.74.

Tesla Stock Down 4.4%

The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $347.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $311.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.41 trillion, a PE ratio of 244.73, a PEG ratio of 14.86 and a beta of 2.06.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.03). Tesla had a net margin of 6.54% and a return on equity of 7.98%. The business had revenue of $22.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.18 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. Tesla's quarterly revenue was down 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director James R. Murdoch sold 120,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.29, for a total value of $42,034,800.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 697,031 shares of the company's stock, valued at $244,162,988.99. This represents a 14.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Xiaotong Zhu sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $363.75, for a total value of $7,275,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 47,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,314,500. The trade was a 29.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 208,606 shares of company stock valued at $77,360,462. Company insiders own 19.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Means Investment CO. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 37.7% during the first quarter. Means Investment CO. Inc. now owns 23,089 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $5,984,000 after purchasing an additional 6,323 shares in the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 3.1% during the first quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 22,467 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $5,823,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares in the last quarter. Siren L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Tesla during the first quarter valued at $2,332,000. Zuckerman Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in Tesla by 6.9% in the first quarter. Zuckerman Investment Group LLC now owns 12,748 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $3,304,000 after acquiring an additional 826 shares during the period. Finally, Keystone Global Partners LLC bought a new position in Tesla in the first quarter valued at about $594,000. 66.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Tesla Company Profile

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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