Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Down 0.4% – Time to Sell?

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s share price traded down 0.4% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $271.28 and last traded at $277.30. 63,942,860 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 30% from the average session volume of 91,569,636 shares. The stock had previously closed at $278.39.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on TSLA shares. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Tesla from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $425.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “cautious” rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Tesla from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Tesla from $195.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Tesla from $295.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Tesla has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $318.93.

Tesla Trading Up 2.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $332.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $321.49. The stock has a market cap of $913.42 billion, a PE ratio of 139.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.50.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.66 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Tesla

In related news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $413.56, for a total transaction of $2,894,920.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 108,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,063,565.40. This represents a 6.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director James R. Murdoch sold 54,776 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.79, for a total transaction of $13,189,513.04. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 477,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,859,478.69. The trade was a 10.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 477,228 shares of company stock valued at $166,849,043 over the last 90 days. 20.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of Tesla by 79.5% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 70 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Horrell Capital Management Inc. grew its stake 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 in the last quarter. GS Investments Inc. grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in Tesla during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Tesla in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. 66.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.