Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Stock Price Down 1.8% on Disappointing Earnings

Shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) traded down 1.8% during trading on Wednesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as low as $390.65 and last traded at $390.86. 14,591,859 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 70,774,664 shares. The stock had previously closed at $398.09.

The electric vehicle producer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.08). Tesla had a net margin of 7.26% and a return on equity of 10.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on TSLA. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Tesla from $480.00 to $440.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. HSBC reissued a "reduce" rating and set a $124.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Tesla from $195.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Tesla from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com cut Tesla from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $318.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Tesla news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $413.56, for a total transaction of $2,894,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,063,565.40. This trade represents a 6.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.02, for a total transaction of $34,602,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,400 shares in the company, valued at $1,868,508. This trade represents a 94.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 553,386 shares of company stock worth $196,305,796. 20.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TSLA. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Tesla during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA purchased a new stake in Tesla during the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. PayPay Securities Corp lifted its position in Tesla by 130.2% during the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 122 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Clean Yield Group increased its holdings in shares of Tesla by 60.0% in the 3rd quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 128 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Tesla during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Tesla Trading Up 1.1 %

The stock's fifty day moving average is $404.22 and its 200 day moving average is $299.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.84. The stock has a market cap of $1.30 trillion, a P/E ratio of 198.33, a P/E/G ratio of 8.08 and a beta of 2.30.

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.