Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Down 1.2% – Here’s Why

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s share price traded down 1.2% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $323.20 and last traded at $324.53. 61,713,865 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 35% from the average session volume of 95,501,219 shares. The stock had previously closed at $328.49.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on TSLA. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Tesla from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Tesla from $254.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Tesla from $254.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Tesla from $274.00 to $258.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Tesla currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $225.06.

Tesla Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a market cap of $1.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 88.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.67 and a beta of 2.29. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $246.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $218.16.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $25.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.47 billion. Tesla had a return on equity of 10.24% and a net margin of 13.07%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.53 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Tesla news, Director Kimbal Musk sold 60,500 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.23, for a total value of $15,138,915.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,563,220 shares in the company, valued at approximately $391,164,540.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Xiaotong Zhu sold 297 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.77, for a total value of $65,865.69. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 67,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,967,479.07. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kimbal Musk sold 60,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.23, for a total value of $15,138,915.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,563,220 shares in the company, valued at $391,164,540.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 76,797 shares of company stock worth $19,211,821 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 20.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in Tesla during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Tesla in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Tesla by 168.8% in the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in Tesla during the third quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Clean Yield Group boosted its position in Tesla by 60.0% during the third quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 128 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 48 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.