Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Trading Down 3.8% – Here’s What Happened

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s share price fell 3.8% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $399.18 and last traded at $406.01. 73,499,030 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 15% from the average session volume of 63,655,023 shares. The stock had previously closed at $421.96.

Key Headlines Impacting Tesla

Here are the key news stories impacting Tesla this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results and earnings commentary beat expectations, reinforcing confidence in margins and energy deployments—supporting the case that Tesla can still execute near-term fundamentals. QuiverQuant: Q4 Opinions
• Positive Sentiment: China-made vehicle wholesale sales rose ~9% year-over-year in January, extending momentum in Tesla’s largest market — a tangible tailwind for revenue while other regions weaken. Reuters: China sales rise
• Positive Sentiment: Tesla’s $2 billion investment in xAI signals deeper AI integration (and potential tech synergies) that bulls view as validation of the “physical AI” growth narrative. Barchart: $2B xAI investment
• Neutral Sentiment: Speculation about SpaceX–xAI–Tesla tie‑ups continues to swirl; potential upside exists but timing and concrete benefits for TSLA remain uncertain. This fuels volatility rather than a clear directional catalyst. TipRanks: Merger speculation
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street remains split: some firms reiterate bullish long-term forecasts while others (and research houses) warn this is a “catalyst-rich” but execution‑dependent year — keeping trading choppy. TipRanks: Wolfe cautious
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation risk is acute — post‑earnings P/E has been highlighted near ~400; at that multiple any small disappointment can trigger outsized selling. That elevated multiple is a primary reason for today’s weakness. MarketBeat: P/E hits 400
• Negative Sentiment: Fresh analyst pressure and downgrades (including a recent lower price target) are weighing on sentiment and triggering short‑term selling. AmericanBankingNews: Analyst downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive threats: Waymo’s large new funding round and accelerating robotaxi rollout increase the risk to Tesla’s autonomy/robotaxi ambitions, pressuring the narrative that justifies TSLA’s premium. 247WallSt: Waymo $16B

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $415.00 price target on Tesla and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Melius Research set a $520.00 target price on Tesla and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a report on Thursday, January 29th. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price target on shares of Tesla from $307.00 to $313.00 in a report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and nine have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Tesla currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $403.92.

Tesla Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 2.16. The stock has a market cap of $1.52 trillion, a PE ratio of 375.94, a PEG ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 1.86. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $447.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $410.15.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $24.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.75 billion. Tesla had a return on equity of 4.86% and a net margin of 4.00%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.73 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Tesla

In other Tesla news, Director James R. Murdoch sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $445.40, for a total value of $26,724,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 577,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $257,009,607.40. The trade was a 9.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kimbal Musk sold 56,820 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 119,457 shares of company stock worth $53,501,145. 19.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Tesla during the 2nd quarter valued at about $11,839,824,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Tesla by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 258,925,024 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $116,443,762,000 after buying an additional 6,538,720 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Tesla by 132.2% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Tesla by 20.4% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 20,194,152 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $6,374,284,000 after buying an additional 3,422,270 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Tesla by 38.3% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 10,909,666 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $4,851,747,000 after acquiring an additional 3,021,550 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.20% of the company’s stock.

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.