Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Trading Down 1.9% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Tesla's stock price decreased by 1.9%, trading at $425.85, with a significant drop in trading volume by 20% compared to its average daily volume.
• Analysts have varied ratings for Tesla, with two Strong Buy ratings and a consensus target price of $326.74, while recent earnings reports showed a revenue decline of 11.8% year-over-year.
• Insiders, including the Director and CFO, sold significant amounts of stock, indicating a decrease in their ownership percentages, raising potential concerns for investors.

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) shares were down 1.9% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $423.72 and last traded at $425.85. Approximately 82,464,049 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 20% from the average daily volume of 103,257,570 shares. The stock had previously closed at $434.21.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on TSLA shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $440.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Tesla from $305.00 to $341.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Tesla from $300.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Tesla from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and nine have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $326.74.

Tesla Stock Performance

The company's 50 day simple moving average is $343.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $309.87. The stock has a market cap of $1.42 trillion, a PE ratio of 246.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 14.86 and a beta of 2.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.04.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Tesla news, Director James R. Murdoch sold 60,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $422.68, for a total value of $25,360,800.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 637,031 shares in the company, valued at $269,260,263.08. The trade was a 8.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,606 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $352.38, for a total value of $918,302.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 9,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,473,057.28. This trade represents a 20.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 208,606 shares of company stock worth $77,360,462. Insiders own 19.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Tesla by 10.8% during the second quarter. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC now owns 309 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. First Merchants Corp lifted its position in Tesla by 1.3% during the second quarter. First Merchants Corp now owns 2,413 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $767,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Kaye Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Kaye Capital Management now owns 1,047 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $333,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Spectrum Wealth Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Tesla by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Spectrum Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 941 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, Wambolt & Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Tesla by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wambolt & Associates LLC now owns 3,119 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $938,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. 66.20% of the stock is currently 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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