Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Trading Down 0.2% After Insider Selling

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares were down 0.2% during mid-day trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $350.51 and last traded at $360.74. Approximately 31,313,022 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 72,824,508 shares. The stock had previously closed at $361.62.

Specifically, Director Kimbal Musk sold 75,000 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.87, for a total value of $27,590,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,463,220 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $538,274,741.40. The trade was a 4.88 % 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 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $383.11, for a total transaction of $2,681,770.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,745,581.15. This represents a 6.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 112,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.04, for a total value of $43,162,255.60. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 85,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,643,400. This represents a 56.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TSLA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Tesla from $195.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Tesla from $226.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Monday. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of Tesla from $254.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Tesla from $250.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Tesla has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $321.71.

Tesla Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.02. The company has a market cap of $1.06 trillion, a PE ratio of 161.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.22 and a beta of 2.34. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $408.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $305.46.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.08). Tesla had a net margin of 7.26% and a return on equity of 10.31%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tesla

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in Tesla during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Horrell Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Tesla by 75.6% during the 4th quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Tesla in the third quarter worth $35,000. GS Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Tesla by 193.3% during the fourth quarter. GS Investments Inc. now owns 88 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Tesla during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors own 66.20% of the company’s stock.

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.