Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Stock Price Down 1.8% – What’s Next?

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares dropped 1.8% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $434.22 and last traded at $439.20. Approximately 56,886,768 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 14% from the average daily volume of 66,040,688 shares. The stock had previously closed at $447.20.

Key Headlines Impacting Tesla

Here are the key news stories impacting Tesla this week:

• Positive Sentiment: U.S. regulators gave Tesla a five‑week extension to respond to the NHTSA probe into Full Self‑Driving traffic violations, reducing immediate regulatory pressure and buying time ahead of earnings. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Data on owner loyalty and recent loyalty awards suggest strong repeat purchase behavior among Tesla drivers, supporting recurring vehicle demand and aftermarket revenue stability. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Tesla highlighted a new lithium refinery in Texas aimed at strengthening its U.S. battery supply chain, which can help margin and production resilience long term. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are trimming positions and booking profits ahead of the Jan. 28 Q4 earnings report, creating short‑term volatility but reflecting a defensive positioning rather than new fundamental news. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts remain split: several firms still bullish on Tesla’s AI/robotics/energy potential while others flag valuation and delivery risks — leaving little margin for error into earnings. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Hyundai appointed a former Tesla humanoid‑robot lead as an adviser, highlighting industry talent movement in robotics — a sign of both sector interest and rising competition for talent. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Commentary that a Ford‑BYD battery tie‑up could make Tesla “a footnote” underscores fears of intensified competition on cost and scale that could pressure volumes and margins. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Robotaxi rivals are accelerating — WeRide reports >1,000 AVs and Waymo/NVIDIA remain strong competitors — raising doubts about Tesla’s robotaxi lead and timing for autonomous revenue. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Tesla’s decision to end one‑time Full Self‑Driving purchases and shift to subscription has prompted customer backlash, prompted sales by large holders (eg., ARK) and prompted commentary that Tesla’s perceived software edge may be fading — a near‑term reputational and revenue mix risk. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and commentators are flagging valuation and slowing deliveries (Q4 deliveries missed estimates), with some downgrades and low price targets that could amplify sell pressure if earnings disappoint. Read More.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on TSLA. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Tesla from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Glj Research reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $25.28 target price (up from $19.05) on shares of Tesla in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Tesla from $235.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on Tesla from $374.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and nine have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $410.20.

Tesla Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.46 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 291.67, a P/E/G ratio of 7.29 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $443.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $398.75.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.50 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.72 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Tesla

In other Tesla news, Director James R. Murdoch sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $445.40, for a total value of $26,724,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 577,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $257,009,607.40. This trade represents a 9.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kimbal Musk sold 56,820 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,391,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $627,145,215.90. This trade represents a 3.92% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 119,457 shares of company stock valued at $53,501,145 in the last 90 days. 19.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Tesla

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Tesla in the second quarter valued at approximately $11,839,824,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC lifted its position in shares of Tesla by 581,880.5% in the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 6,436,704 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $2,044,683,000 after purchasing an additional 6,435,598 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Tesla by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 251,390,681 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $79,856,764,000 after purchasing an additional 4,502,976 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Tesla by 132.2% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 6,157,000 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $2,738,141,000 after buying an additional 3,505,000 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in Tesla by 20.4% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 20,194,152 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $6,374,284,000 after buying an additional 3,422,270 shares during the last quarter. 66.20% of the stock is currently 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.