Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Trading Down 4.6% – Should You Sell?

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s share price traded down 4.6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $415.43 and last traded at $415.88. 43,701,863 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 28% from the average session volume of 60,895,859 shares. The stock had previously closed at $435.79.

Tesla News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Tesla this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Tesla saw strong signs of a European recovery, with May registrations jumping sharply in several markets, including a more-than-quadruple increase in Portugal and a 112.8% sales surge in Spain, which supports the long-term demand story. Reuters: Tesla May registrations jump in several European markets as recovery continues
• Positive Sentiment: Reuters also reported that Tesla registrations rose in multiple European markets, reinforcing signs that demand is improving outside China and the U.S. Reuters: Tesla May registrations jump in several European markets as recovery continues
• Neutral Sentiment: Tesla backed away from ending its graphite supply agreement with Syrah Resources after the supplier made progress on qualification work, reducing near-term supply-chain uncertainty but not changing the core growth outlook. Reuters: Tesla withdraws termination notice on graphite supply deal with Australia’s Syrah
• Negative Sentiment: Shares fell after OpenAI announced a robotics initiative, intensifying concerns that Tesla’s Optimus robot push will face a stronger AI competitor. TipRanks: Tesla Stock (TSLA) Falls on Robo Attack from Nvidia and OpenAI
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also weighing reports that SpaceX could eventually be merged with Tesla, with several commentators arguing the idea could be value-destructive and add dilution risk. TipRanks: ‘Makes No Sense’: Top Investor Blasts Potential SpaceX and Tesla Merger as Value Destroying
• Negative Sentiment: China competition remains a drag on sentiment, with Nio’s strong May delivery report and broader BYD strength highlighting intensifying pressure in the EV market. 247WallSt: NIO Soars 7% on Blowout May Deliveries Up 62%, Tesla Sinks 3% as China EV Battle Intensifies

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. China Renaissance dropped their price target on shares of Tesla from $382.00 to $372.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Tesla from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Tesla from $540.00 to $480.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Monday. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $395.20.

Tesla Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $391.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $416.20. The firm has a market cap of $1.56 trillion, a PE ratio of 381.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 17.21 and a beta of 1.80.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.02. Tesla had a return on equity of 4.89% and a net margin of 3.95%.The business had revenue of $22.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.27 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Tesla, Inc. will post 1.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Tesla

In other news, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 26,409 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.11, for a total transaction of $9,985,506.99. Following the transaction, the director owned 48,399 shares in the company, valued at $18,300,145.89. The trade was a 35.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 3,000 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $1,350,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,106 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,147,700. This represents a 14.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 57,482 shares of company stock worth $21,508,331. Insiders own 19.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Tesla

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 34.7% in the fourth quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 19,567 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $8,799,000 after purchasing an additional 5,039 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 29.6% in the third quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 32,576 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $14,487,000 after purchasing an additional 7,446 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 8.8% in the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 48,504 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $21,571,000 after purchasing an additional 3,935 shares in the last quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 41,907 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $18,846,000 after purchasing an additional 2,341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 26.0% in the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 18,032 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $8,019,000 after purchasing an additional 3,724 shares in the last quarter. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Tesla Company Profile

Tesla, Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) is an American company that designs, manufactures and sells electric vehicles, energy generation and energy storage products. Founded in 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, Tesla grew into a vertically integrated mobility and clean?energy company with Elon Musk serving as its chief executive officer. The company’s stated mission is to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy, reflected in its combined focus on electric drivetrains, battery technology, renewable energy products and software.

Tesla’s automotive business includes a lineup of battery?electric vehicles and related services.