Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Down 1.4% – What’s Next?

Shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) were down 1.4% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $325.60 and last traded at $329.36. Approximately 21,336,143 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 103,505,688 shares. The stock had previously closed at $333.87.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Sunday, August 17th. Daiwa Capital Markets reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Sunday, July 27th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a report on Monday, August 4th. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $475.00 target price (up previously from $350.00) on shares of Tesla in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and nine have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $303.31.

Tesla Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.06 trillion, a P/E ratio of 189.68, a PEG ratio of 11.61 and a beta of 2.06. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $323.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $302.39.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.03). Tesla had a net margin of 6.54% and a return on equity of 7.98%. The company had revenue of $22.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.18 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.89, for a total value of $1,171,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 5,924 shares in the company, valued at $1,735,080.36. The trade was a 40.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director James R. Murdoch sold 120,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.29, for a total transaction of $42,034,800.00. Following the sale, the director owned 697,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $244,162,988.99. This represents a 14.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 143,564 shares of company stock worth $49,396,070 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 20.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Tesla

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TSLA. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Tesla by 86.3% in the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 95 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. First PREMIER Bank lifted its position in Tesla by 79.2% during the first quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 95 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Chapman Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Tesla in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Newton One Investments LLC raised its stake in Tesla by 250.0% during the 1st quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 105 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI bought a new position in shares of Tesla during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Institutional investors own 66.20% of the company’s stock.

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.