Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Stock Price Down 4.7% on Insider Selling

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s share price traded down 4.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $234.00 and last traded at $236.39. 47,638,062 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 45% from the average session volume of 86,975,102 shares. The stock had previously closed at $248.09.

Specifically, Director James R. Murdoch sold 54,776 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.79, for a total transaction of $13,189,513.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 477,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,859,478.69. This trade represents a 10.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Tesla from $315.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Tesla from $195.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Tesla from $259.00 to $225.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Tesla currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $325.81.

Tesla Stock Down 3.0 %

The company has a market cap of $774.15 billion, a PE ratio of 117.98, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $354.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $318.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.02.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last posted its quarterly 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%. On average, analysts predict that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tesla

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of TSLA. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in shares of Tesla by 79.5% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 70 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Horrell Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Tesla by 75.6% in the 4th quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Tesla in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. GS Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Tesla during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. 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.