Simplify Asset Management Inc. Sells 4,189 Shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)

Simplify Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) by 25.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,531 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock after selling 4,189 shares during the period. Tesla comprises 0.3% of Simplify Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Simplify Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Tesla were worth $5,061,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in Tesla by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,098,717 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $287,457,000 after acquiring an additional 29,669 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Tesla by 5.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,650,393 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $955,052,000 after purchasing an additional 194,796 shares during the period. United Bank acquired a new position in Tesla in the third quarter valued at about $287,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Tesla by 0.9% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,972 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $2,347,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Investment Consultants LLC acquired a new stake in Tesla during the third quarter worth about $280,000. 66.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Tesla

In related news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 112,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 85,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,643,400. This represents a 56.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $413.56, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 477,228 shares of company stock worth $166,849,043 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 20.70% of the company’s stock.

Tesla Stock Performance

TSLA stock opened at $248.71 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $799.98 billion, a PE ratio of 121.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $335.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $320.44. Tesla, Inc. has a 1-year low of $138.80 and a 1-year high of $488.54.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last issued 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, equities research analysts expect that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on TSLA shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “cautious” rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Benchmark started coverage on Tesla in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $475.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Tesla from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $425.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Tesla from $515.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Tesla from $500.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Nine research 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $318.93.

Tesla 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.