Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Down 1.2% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) were down 1.2% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $453.83 and last traded at $454.3050. Approximately 58,553,255 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 40% from the average daily volume of 97,912,938 shares. The stock had previously closed at $459.64.

Key Headlines Impacting Tesla

Here are the key news stories impacting Tesla this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Baird and other firms are still bullish — analysts cite long‑term robotaxi, Optimus and energy growth as reasons to maintain Buy ratings and have left high price targets (e.g., Baird ~$548) intact, supporting upside expectations. Analyst: Maintaining Buy on Long‑Term Catalysts
• Positive Sentiment: Autonomy progress remains a structural bull case: Tesla’s FSD fleet is approaching ~7 billion miles driven (with heavy urban data), which investors view as critical for the robotaxi/AI valuation thesis. Tesla FSD Approaches 7B Miles
• Neutral Sentiment: Market mechanics and big‑picture ideas could mute volatility: proposals around a SpaceX SPARC/IPO (Ackman) and investor notes that lower Q4 delivery expectations may already be priced in reduce the shock factor, depending on execution and timing. Bill Ackman SPARC Idea and Impact on Tesla
• Neutral Sentiment: Some commentators note the market may have already absorbed weaker delivery guidance, so next moves depend on the actual delivery/earnings prints and management commentary early next month. Lower Delivery Expectations Priced In
• Negative Sentiment: Tesla pre‑published a company‑compiled consensus showing analysts expect ~15% fewer Q4 deliveries year‑over‑year (~422,850 vehicles), an uncommon move that investors interpret as an early warning of weakening demand (loss of tax credits and tougher competition cited). That is the main near‑term driver of the stock’s weakness. Reuters: Quarterly Deliveries Seen Falling
• Negative Sentiment: Cybertruck continues to underperform expectations: weak consumer traction, quality complaints and a materially reduced L&F battery‑materials deal (from ~$2.9B projected to a token value) point to lower near‑term vehicle demand and supplier fallout. Reuters: L&F Says Battery Deal Value Cut to $7,386
• Negative Sentiment: Insider/large‑fund selling and safety/quality headlines add pressure — notable stake trims (e.g., Cathie Wood reductions) plus reports of returns, door‑safety probes and mechanical complaints strain sentiment ahead of the delivery report. Cathie Wood Trims Tesla Stake Yahoo: Door Safety Investigation
• Negative Sentiment: Technicals and valuation amplify risk: the stock’s recent pullback from fresh highs (multi‑day declines) plus a very high P/E leave little margin for error if near‑term delivery/earnings miss expectations. MarketBeat: After Four Red Days, Is the Rally in Trouble?

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on TSLA. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a research report on Monday, December 15th. President Capital increased their price objective on Tesla from $373.00 to $529.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Tesla from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Tesla from $341.00 to $471.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, DZ Bank reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and nine have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $414.50.

Tesla Trading Down 1.2%

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.51 trillion, a P/E ratio of 302.87, a P/E/G ratio of 12.01 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $445.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $388.31.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.02. Tesla had a net margin of 5.51% and a return on equity of 6.61%. The company had revenue of $28.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.72 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kimbal Musk sold 56,820 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.66, for a total transaction of $25,606,501.20. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,391,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $627,145,215.90. The trade was a 3.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,637 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $443.93, for a total transaction of $1,170,643.41. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,757 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,107,145.01. This trade represents a 16.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 19.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tesla

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Tesla by 0.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 252,386,304 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $112,241,237,000 after buying an additional 995,623 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in Tesla by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 113,762,849 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $50,592,614,000 after buying an additional 344,162 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Tesla by 2.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 64,767,993 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $20,480,477,000 after purchasing an additional 1,269,304 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Tesla by 5.8% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 44,035,949 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $19,583,547,000 after buying an additional 2,403,019 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Tesla in the 2nd quarter valued at about $11,839,824,000. 66.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.