Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $317.66, but opened at $298.46. Tesla shares last traded at $304.61, with a volume of 41,842,968 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on TSLA shares. Oppenheimer reissued a “mixed” rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Tesla from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price objective on shares of Tesla from $425.00 to $355.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Tesla presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $298.37.

Tesla Stock Down 4.6%

The company has a market capitalization of $976.24 billion, a PE ratio of 166.75, a P/E/G ratio of 12.20 and a beta of 2.47. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $316.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $328.38. The company has a current ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.26). Tesla had a return on equity of 9.02% and a net margin of 6.66%. The company had revenue of $19.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Tesla

In related news, SVP Xiaotong Zhu sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $323.81, for a total value of $4,857,150.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 67,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,889,556. The trade was a 18.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kimbal Musk sold 91,588 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $357.39, for a total transaction of $32,732,635.32. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,463,220 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $522,940,195.80. This represents a 5.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 833,509 shares of company stock valued at $278,648,925 in the last quarter. Insiders own 20.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Tesla

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in shares of Tesla by 79.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. GS Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Tesla by 193.3% during the 4th quarter. GS Investments Inc. now owns 88 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in Tesla during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Tesla during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.