Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Stock Price Down 3.8% After Insider Selling

Shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) fell 3.8% on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $312.36 and last traded at $319.40. 53,138,531 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 46% from the average session volume of 98,214,706 shares. The stock had previously closed at $332.05.

Specifically, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $350,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 1,950 shares of the company's stock, valued at $682,500. This trade represents a 33.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $341.02, for a total value of $2,046,120.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 1,950 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $664,989. The trade was a 75.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on TSLA. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley reissued a "buy" rating and set a $430.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Guggenheim reiterated a "sell" rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and set a $350.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $293.97.

Tesla Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $291.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $333.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market cap of $916.94 billion, a PE ratio of 139.55, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.47.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.26). The business had revenue of $19.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.93 billion. Tesla had a return on equity of 10.31% and a net margin of 7.26%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Tesla by 57.0% in the first quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 785 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $203,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 147.3% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,024 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Tesla by 58.8% during the first quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,178 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $824,000 after buying an additional 1,177 shares during the period. Integrity Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Tesla by 37.0% during the 1st quarter. Integrity Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,802 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $726,000 after buying an additional 757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Modern Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 58.6% in the 1st quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,043 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $3,898,000 after buying an additional 5,557 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.20% of the company's stock.

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.