Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Trading Down 1.5% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Tesla's stock price fell by 1.5% to $429.24, with trading volume down 30% from its average.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Tesla, with two Strong Buy, twenty-one Buy, and eight Sell ratings, and a consensus price target of $363.03.
• Insider transactions included a significant sale by Director James R. Murdoch, who sold 120,000 shares valued at approximately $42 million.

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 1.5% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $417.86 and last traded at $429.24. Approximately 71,635,982 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 30% from the average daily volume of 102,531,758 shares. The stock had previously closed at $435.90.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. HSBC upped their target price on shares of Tesla from $120.00 to $127.00 in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Robert W. Baird raised Tesla from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $320.00 to $548.00 in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Tesla from $305.00 to $341.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, CICC Research boosted their price target on Tesla from $360.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and eight have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Tesla currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $363.03.

Tesla Trading Down 1.5%

The business's fifty day moving average price is $378.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $329.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The company has a market cap of $1.43 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 248.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 14.92 and a beta of 2.08.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Tesla

In other news, Director James R. Murdoch sold 120,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.29, for a total transaction of $42,034,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 697,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $244,162,988.99. This represents a 14.69% 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, SVP Xiaotong Zhu sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $363.75, for a total value of $7,275,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 47,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,314,500. This represents a 29.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 202,606 shares of company stock valued at $75,588,902 in the last quarter. 19.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Tesla by 0.8% in the third quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 3,118 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $1,387,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Tesla by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,975 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $1,323,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Security National Bank of SO Dak boosted its stake in Tesla by 2.4% during the third quarter. Security National Bank of SO Dak now owns 1,216 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $541,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Financial Harvest LLC boosted its stake in shares of Tesla by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Harvest LLC now owns 1,217 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $541,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Finally, Holos Integrated Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Tesla by 10.8% during the 2nd quarter. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC now owns 309 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $102,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. 66.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.

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