Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Down 3.7% on Insider Selling

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 3.7% during trading on Tuesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $339.19 and last traded at $337.68. Approximately 34,553,744 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 53% from the average daily volume of 73,030,281 shares. The stock had previously closed at $350.73.

Specifically, Director Kimbal Musk sold 75,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $367.87, for a total transaction of $27,590,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,463,220 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 7,000 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $383.11, for a total transaction of $2,681,770.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,965 shares in the company, valued at $41,745,581.15. This trade represents a 6.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 112,390 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $384.04, for a total transaction of $43,162,255.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 85,000 shares in the company, 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on TSLA. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $440.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Tesla from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Tesla from $492.00 to $474.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Tesla from $195.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $365.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $326.50.

Tesla Stock Performance

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 company has a market cap of $1.14 trillion, a PE ratio of 174.43, a P/E/G ratio of 6.22 and a beta of 2.34. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $406.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $307.64.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last announced 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in Tesla during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Horrell Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Tesla during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. GS Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Tesla by 193.3% in the fourth quarter. GS Investments Inc. now owns 88 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Navigoe LLC bought a new position in Tesla during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. 66.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.