Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Trading Down 6.6% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) traded down 6.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $388.59 and last traded at $391.00. 61,794,232 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 2% from the average session volume of 60,308,188 shares. The stock had previously closed at $418.45.

More Tesla News

Here are the key news stories impacting Tesla this week:

• Positive Sentiment: J.P. Morgan abandoned its long-running bearish stance on Tesla and now sees greater upside from robotics and AI, a notable validation from one of the company’s biggest skeptics. Reuters: JP Morgan upgrades Tesla to ‘neutral’, sees robotics driving long-term growth
• Positive Sentiment: The upgraded thesis highlights Tesla as a leader in “physical AI,” which supports the idea that investors may be valuing the company more like an autonomy/robotics platform than a traditional automaker. TipRanks: J.P. Morgan Upgrades Tesla Stock (TSLA) to ‘Neutral,’ Says ‘TSLA Is at the Forefront of Physical AI’
• Positive Sentiment: Tesla also continues to expand its unsupervised robotaxi rollout in Austin, reinforcing the market’s focus on autonomy progress. Business Insider: Tesla expands service area of unsupervised robotaxis in Austin
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader commentary around Tesla’s valuation remains mixed, with some analysts arguing the stock already prices in a lot of AI and robotics optimism, limiting near-term upside if execution slows. 247WallSt: Buy, Hold, or Sell: Is Tesla Stock a Sell Above $400?
• Negative Sentiment: Crypto-related headlines also created a small headwind, with Bitcoin’s decline reportedly reducing the value of Tesla’s crypto treasury. Seeking Alpha: Bitcoin selloff wipes over $220M in value from Tesla’s crypto treasury

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. HSBC initiated coverage on Tesla in a research report on Monday, April 27th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. China Renaissance dropped their target price on shares of Tesla from $382.00 to $372.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 27th. DZ Bank raised shares of Tesla from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $385.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Tesla from $540.00 to $480.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Evercore raised Tesla to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Tesla has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $404.37.

Tesla Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $395.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $416.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.47 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 358.72, a PEG ratio of 16.73 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 2.04.

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

Insider Transactions at Tesla

In related news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 3,000 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $1,350,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,106 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,147,700. This trade represents a 14.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 26,409 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.11, for a total value of $9,985,506.99. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 48,399 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,300,145.89. This represents a 35.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 55,218 shares of company stock valued at $20,609,455 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 19.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tesla

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in TSLA. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Tesla by 34.7% in the 4th quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 19,567 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $8,799,000 after acquiring an additional 5,039 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its position in shares of Tesla by 29.6% during the 3rd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 32,576 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $14,487,000 after acquiring an additional 7,446 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew 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 during the period. Calamos Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Tesla by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 41,907 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $18,846,000 after purchasing an additional 2,341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Willis Johnson & Associates Inc. raised its stake in Tesla by 21.6% during the third quarter. Willis Johnson & Associates Inc. now owns 8,917 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $3,965,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582 shares during the period. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Tesla

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.